Huntress In Fur
by BrandCast23
Summary: Set in an alternate universe; where Katniss gets bit by a werewolf one day in the woods. Her wolf side decides that Peeta will be her mate for life. But the main question running through her mind is: Who bit her? How will she deal with this new side of her that is just begging to be let out? This is the story of the Hunger Games with the supernatural in Panem.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fan fiction story. I have been reading stories for a few months now, and have decided to try writing one. If I don't get any positive feedback on this fiction, then I will not continue writing it. As of right now I don't have any betas or anyone helping me out. This story is rated M, for some violence and sexual scenes that will happen later if enough people like it. AU. **

**Disclaimer: I own no rights to the Hunger Games and it's characters.**

**Chapter 1:**

Katniss POV:

When I woke up this morning I could tell it was going to be a bad day. But who would have guessed that this day would end up changing my life forever. Even through this bad day, there will be a lot of great things that came out of it. Such as finally getting together with my future husband, though we will not have a regular relationship. Here is where my forever starts.

I open my eyes to the darkness of the early morning. I begin pulling my father's hunting jacket and pulling my hair into my favorite braid. While grabbing my game bag, I look over at my little sister Prim still sleeping.

I know that even though she is my sister, she has kind of seen me as the mother figure that was never there for us. My mother fell into a depression state after my father died, and has very slowly started to get better. She has good days and bad days of her depression, but the majority of her days are bad days. Her good days consist of her getting out of bed and wandering around the house. Her bad days, she doesn't really get out of bed. If she does she never says anything. That is why I have become the hunter and care giver of my family, because no one else can and will.

Everyone in my district has their own wants for the life that they want to live. For most of the population in the Seam of District 12, which is where we live, we do not get a choice. We will live in poverty unless someone from Town, who are the merchant families, decides to help us or marry us. I myself have never really wanted to marry or have children due to the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games takes two members of the young population of each district and has them kill each other until there is one left standing. Every year I end up hoping that it is not either my best friend Gale or me who gets picked. But this year is different; it is my little sister Prim's first year with her name in the running for the games. So, as of right now, I am terrified of her getting her name drawn.

I try to push those thoughts out of my head as I start walking through town after leaving my home. The only place to get safely out of the district and into the woods for hunting is a hole in the fence near the bakery. As I near the bakery, I see the one boy who I would marry out of all of the people in twelve, Peeta Mellark. No, I am not in love with Peeta, even though I could easily see myself falling in love with him. I would marry him for a lot of reasons. A few being that he saved both my life by giving me burnt loaves of bread when my family was at our lowest. Another is he is a genuinely nice guy, who would never take advantage of me, even though it seems we came from different worlds. Also he is a very attractive looking man. Peeta has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a great build for his body. I can never stop myself from checking him out, which I never do to anybody, except him.

As I am walking past him, he is working on picking herbs that goes in some of his baked goods; he smiles at me and gives me his customary hello. I smile back and continue on my path towards the hole in the fence. Only looking back once, and as I do, I see him hurry to divert his eyes from me. This makes me blush a little.

Once ducking under the fence, I start making my way into the forest. As the sun begins to rise I find the little path towards a little meadow where I normally meet Gale. While walking past I see the little cave that we used to hang out in when we were little. I glance at the cave and continue walking, missing the glowing green eyes that are starring at me as I walk past. Eventually I see him about thirty yards away sitting on a rock. As I walk over he turns and sees me coming.

"Sleep in a little late today, Catnip?" Gale says.

"No, I just wasn't in a hurry to get out here." I say, nonchalantly.

"Why were you not in a hurry? Did you not love me or something?"

"Ha ha, very funny Gale. You know that I love you like a brother."

I see him deflate a little as he replies, "Yeah, of course I know that. So, shall we start hunting already? I have to get back early for work in the Mines."

I nod my head and grab my bow and arrows that are hidden in a fallen tree trunk. I start walking while he rushes to catch up with his gear. We fall silent as we travel through the woods. Keeping our eyes peeled and ears tuned in for any little disturbance, which could result in our next meal. After about a half an hour we find a few rabbits and take them out.

Gale says, "Katniss, I have to start heading back for work. Do you mind if I take the rabbits for my family?"

"Of course, take them. I will be out for another few hours." I say.

"Thanks Catnip. Don't be out too long and get yourself in trouble, or worse hurt."

"I'll try not to get caught or hurt. See you." I say.

"Bye." He says while walking back in the direction that we came from.

I continue to hunt for a few hours. I end up getting a wild turkey and a few squirrels. I plan on trading the turkey for a few loaves of bread, and keeping the squirrels for dinner. I make it back into the meadow and decide to sit and soak in the freedom of being outside the district. I love it out in the woods. If I could I would live out here, but I know that is a dream that will never come true. I get up and start to head back down the trail that leads to district twelve.

I start to pass the cave when I hear something that makes me stop dead in my tracks. It sounds like a predator growling at something that is encroaching on its territory. I turn to look at the cave. And in a flash of black fur and glowing green eyes, I feel a searing pain that grows in my right hip. I release a scream, as I see what looks like a furry person start heading back into the thickness of the woods. I can't move as the fiery pain starts to make my vision blur. I hear rustling in the direction of the district. Panicked thinking that the creature is coming back, I start to scream and stop when I see Peeta running as fast as he can in my direction. The last thing I hear as I pass out is the panicked voice of Peeta saying;

"What happened Katniss?"

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story. If you did please tell me, so that I can continue to write it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. Thanks to all of the people who reviewed and favorited the story so fast. I was only expecting like one or two before I started to work on the second chapter, but I like the way it went better. I hope that you all like how this story plays out. I plan on having there be quite a few chapters. I know that it is a little fast for a next chapter, but I have a little bit of time on my hands.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 2:**

**Peeta POV:**

I head out into the early hours of the day to pick out some of the herbs needed for today's workday. Yawning as I make it to the garden. I turn to see the beautiful brunette girl who I have been in love since the first time I saw her.

Katniss Everdeen has continued to make me fall harder and harder in love with all of her little quirks, that I have found by staring. I don't think that me staring while she tries to go about her business is creepy. I would never do anything to make her feel uncomfortable or in harm. In fact, it is just the opposite. I would give my life for Katniss, even if that meant that she would get to live one more hour than I did, I love her that much.

I shake myself from my thoughts as she smiles as she walks past. The only thought that remains in my head is: _smile back you idiot, or else she think you ARE an idiot. _So, I smile as fast as I can, so she won't get the wrong idea. She looks away, and continues to walk. I stare as she walks away. She turns back to look at me, and I hurry and divert my eyes away. I have gotten pretty good at looking away from her throughout the years. I pick up all that I have picked and start to head back into the bakery, where I also live.

Walking in, I see my older brother Rye working on kneading out the bread dough. He is only one year older than me, but he acts like he is a few years younger. I have two older brothers: Rye, and my 24-year-old brother Bannock. Bannock is married with two kids. So I don't see him very often. He left the house as soon as he could. I don't blame him for that because of how my mom treats us. She was a lot softer on him than she is to both Rye and I. She beats us when we do things that she does not like, such as, spilling flour or not sweeping properly. The worse the mess up, the worse she beats us. We have gotten pretty good as not screwing up, but everyone makes mistakes. The one time that I actually meant to do something that brought on my mother's rage was burn a few loaves of bread for Katniss and her family. I took that beating with pride, which only made her beat me worse.

After a few hours of slaving in front of a hot oven, I get to finally start working on one of the highlights of my day, decorating. Decorating the cakes and cupcakes is one of the only times when I am actually free to express myself. I work with a steady hand and create beautiful works of edible art.

When I get done I finally get to relax and hang out until dinner. The only thing that needs to be done in the bakery is selling the things that my brother and I have made. If we are lucky, the bakery will not sell everything from the previous day. If they don't then we get to eat all the stale bread and goods. People assume that because we live in a bakery we get to eat whatever we want whenever we want it. But that is very much not true. I like to think while eating the stale leftovers that it could always be worse. We steal a few cookies every now and then, because what mom doesn't know won't hurt her.

I step outside into the sunny and coal smelling atmosphere that is District 12. I look to all of my neighbor's houses, and think of the lives that they live. The better of my neighbors is the mayor's house. They decided to build next to the bakery so every morning they can wake to the smell of cooked bread. Their daughter Madge lives a very easy life. She hangs out with whomever she wants. She doesn't have to worry about being picked for the games. And the thing that I would like the most out of all of the things that she takes for granted is the love of both of her parents. I mean my dad loves my brothers and me, but if he ever shows it in front of my mom she freaks out at him. I was told there was a time when we were the light of my mother's life. I don't remember that time, and I most definitely don't remember her ever saying that she loves me, let alone that she likes me.

As I start to walk around the house I hear a very loud scream that sounds like someone is both hurt and scared. My heart drops when I put together that it is a girl's scream and that it came from the woods. I know that it is Katniss, so I take off like a rocket for the hole in the fence, dive through it, and take off again into the direction that I heard the scream. I fly down a little path and stop dead in my tracks as I see Katniss on the ground and looking in the direction of some large, fleeting animal that looks like a person. As soon as the creature is out of sight, I turn and run towards Katniss, who looks terrified.

She starts to fall backwards. I catch her and ask her, "What happened Katniss?" She doesn't answer me, as her eyes start sliding shut. I think I am seeing things because her beautiful grey eyes are glowing. I don't really think about it as I see blood on the right side of her body. I slowly begin to slide up her shirt a little to see the damage. Trying not to be sick, I see a huge bite mark on her hip.

I hurry and scoop her up and start running to take her back to her mother who I know is a healer. I make it back into the district to see no one around. Maybe no one else heard her scream, or maybe they just don't care. I run past my house and start to head towards the Seam. After a few minutes of running I see her house. Pushing open their door, I find both her mother and her sister sitting at their table.

I say, "Help! I found her just outside of the fence. She looks like she has been bitten by a big animal."

"Do you know what kind of animal?"

"No I don't."

"Okay, set her on the table, maybe we will be able to identify the animal by the bite."

I set her down and take a step back to let them do their thing. Her mother lifts her blood soaked shirt and looks to where her bite is. Her eyebrows furrow and she looks at me. Prim asks, "Where was she bitten?"

"Right where you are looking," I reply.

She looks at me and says, "Peeta, there is nothing here."

I step forward and look at where I saw the bite. All that I see is her hip that looks like it is covered in new skin. Dumbfounded I look her mom in the eyes and say, "She had a bite right there, and it looked horrible."

"Can you describe it?" She asks.

"Not really, but I can draw it."

She hands me a piece of paper and a pencil, and I start drawing. After about a minute I turn the paper back towards her and say, "The bite looked exactly like that."

She says, "Peeta, are you sure that you drew this right? It looks like a human bite, but it also has some dog like properties to it."

"Mrs. Everdeen, I have no idea what it was that bit her, but the bite was exactly like you see in that drawing."

"Well, alright then, since there is no bite here. The best thing that we can do is wait for her to wake up. You can leave now."

"Um, Mrs. Everdeen, would it be alright if I wait here until she wakes up so I could see if she is alright?" I ask.

"Yeah, that is fine. Take a seat."

We sit and talk for about an hour before Katniss finally starts to wake up. We hurry and come to her side as she looks around. I see that her eyes are the same color as they were before she was bitten.

Her mom says, "Whoa, Katniss, from what I heard from Peeta you were bit. Take it easy until we figure out whether or not you are alright."

"Okay. Peeta can you tell me what happened?" She asks tiredly.

"Yeah. I was walking near my house when I heard you scream. I ran to find that you were bitten by something and were about to pass out."

"Did you see what bit me?"

"Yes, I saw it. But I have no idea what type of animal it was."

She says with a shaky voice, "I saw it too. I have never seen anything like it. All I remember after seeing it was a pain in my hip, and you running towards me. Why does my hip not hurt anymore?"

I reply, "I have no idea. I ran you back as fast as I could. As soon as I got here we saw that the bite was healed."

"What do you mean it was healed?"

"Well, when you started to pass out I saw the bite on your hip. Here I drew it on this paper." I hand her the drawing, and continue, "That is what it looked like. But when your mom went to look at it, it was gone."

She looks at it for a long minute, then says, "I have never seen this bite before. Thank you very much for saving me Peeta."

I blush a little and reply, "I didn't really save you, but if I had gotten there a little earlier, I would have tried to."

She looks at me in the eyes and says, "I know that you would have Peeta."

My heart starts to beat faster. She probably has no idea on how much she can affect me. I wish that I could just tell her how I feel and how much I love her, but I can't. What if she rejects me? I don't think that I could ever live down the love of my life rejecting me.

So I look up to her mother and say, "Well, I better get home for dinner. My parents are probably wondering where I am."

"Okay Peeta. Thanks for helping Katniss out. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome." I say while backing out of their home. I send Katniss a worried smile as I leave. I don't stop thinking about what could have happened to her as I walk home. What if I was too late? I don't think that I could live with myself if she died while I was trying to save her.

I arrive home, with my mom asking where I was. I say something along the lines of being out for a walk. She does not say anything back to me while we eat our dinner of stale bread and soup. After dinner I head to my room that used to be Bannock's.

I lie in bed and quickly fall asleep. About an hour later I startle awake, and look around. My eyes fall on the glowing eyes of Katniss, looking at me hungrily, standing near my open window. I'm a little scared at the way she is looking at me. She jumps on me and starts kissing me. My mind goes blank, then I start to kiss her back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again to all of those who have favorite and reviewed this story. I hope that all of those who read but did not review or favorite liked the story a little bit. I started writing it because I had the idea and hoped people would enjoy it like I have enjoyed the stories of others. It means a lot to hear that you guys want more. I plan on doing the point of view's split between Katniss one chapter, and Peeta the next. There will be a sexy scene in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 3**

**Katniss POV:**

When I woke up from passing out after that thing bit me, the first thing I felt was that there was power that I could feel inside of me. The best I can explain it is that feeling that you can do anything with a certainty of success. I don't have much time to think about it as we talk about what happened. I feel the fear of not knowing what is going on with my body. I get confused watching Peeta as he talks; it is like I can sense his emotions. I don't know how I can sense them, but I know it has something to do with the bite. He starts out worried and a little bit panicked. While he figures out that I feel fine, his emotions shift to relief and happiness. But the constant emotion I can sense is love, which confuses me more. Why would he feel love towards me? I have done nothing to deserve his love.

A few minutes after he leaves, and my mother goes back to her room, I step outside to think. I think about Peeta and all the times I have been in his company. Sure, I have caught him looking at me, but I never really looked too much into those times that I have caught him looking. I think of that one time he saved us with the bread, but I have always figured that it was out of sadness and pity. Then I think back to that dream I had while I was passed out.

_The dream starts out with me in the meadow. Everywhere I look I see the beauty of the woods. I look down at the patch of dandelions I am standing in, which makes me happy and safe. I first felt the hope and safety that this flower brought me when Peeta gave me the bread. I look up to find Peeta walking towards me. I walk towards him, and give him a hug. We sit there and hold each other, after a few minutes we pull apart. He looks in my eyes, smiles, and then moves in for a kiss. I kiss him back. We get lost in our kisses and move to lie down in the grass. He pulls away and looks back to where he came walking from. I follow his gaze and see a wolf approaching us. I sit in fear, waiting for the wolf to attack, but it doesn't. I look into its glowing grey eyes, and know that it does not mean harm. It licks my face and moves to sit on the other side of Peeta. It yawns and lays its head on his stomach. He strokes its head and looks back at me and gives me a kiss._ That is where the dream ends.

What does this dream mean? I don't know, but I know that I love Peeta. It is like the bite has amplified all of my feelings towards him. I move back into the house to prepare a little dinner for my family, all the while thinking about what the dream means other than my love for Peeta.

After we get done eating I ask my mom, "Do you know why the bite healed so fast? Or if I will be okay?"

"No." she says while not making eye contact.

I feel anger starting to rise within me. I want her to look at me and tell me that everything will be all right, but I know that I should not expect her to. She only thinks about herself.

I have never been this angry with my mother for abandoning us. I hurry up and go into the bathroom knowing that if I stay in the same room with her, I will do something I will regret. I curl up on the ground and try to control my anger that is continuing to grow inside of me. After I feel my anger going away, I stand and look to the mirror and see the glowing grey eyes that I saw in my dream. They have replaced my eyes, and I also see fangs that have replaced my teeth. My anger goes away as I stare at my new features going back to my regular ones.

All of a sudden, everything clicks into place. The dream was of Peeta, the wolf, and me. That must mean that the wolf from my dream is a new part of me given by that animal. I think that I must also be whatever that thing is that bit me. That thing was a human as well. I feel the need to tell someone, but whom can I tell? My mom won't care, Prim will get scared, Gale won't understand, that leaves me with Peeta. I think of Peeta, he saw that thing, he is caring and compassionate, and he loves me.

I make my way over to his house. When I get there I find all of the lights off in the bakery and upper levels of his house. I see an open window and listen to see if whoever is in the room is asleep. I listen carefully and find out that not only can I hear their breathing; I can also hear their heartbeat. The slow sound of their breath and heart indicates that they are asleep. I move and jump up and catch my hand on the window seal. I pull myself up as silently as I can and see a sleeping Peeta in his bed. I step on his floor and contemplate waking him up. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. My eyes graze over his body. I see his broad chest and toned arms. I feel a fire starting to rise within me. He wakes up and all I can think of is that I want to have his body wrapped around mine.

I hop on top of him and start to kiss him with everything I've got. He doesn't pull away; instead he starts to match my aggressive pace. He pulls me away, and he says, "Katniss, as much as I want this to happen, are you sure that this is what you want?"

I smile, "Peeta, I have wanted this for a while now, but after you saved me and I could not stop thinking about you. I know that I have to have this… I need this. I need you."

He smiles and replies, "Then have me."

I kiss him again. He cups my face while we kiss. I begin to pull off his shirt; he lifts his arms. I start to unbutton his pants, but my hands are shaking with desire. After the button won't come undone, I decide screw it. I pull his pants as hard as I can, and rip them in the process. He sits wide-eyed looking at me, then opens his mouth and says, "I never liked those pants anyway."

Then he starts to work off my clothes. After all of our clothes are on the floor, our eyes start searching each other's bodies. He lays me down and begins to kiss my neck. I shiver when he kisses a spot under my ear. He works his way to my breasts and gives them a squeeze as he takes one of my nipples into his mouth. I arch my back in reaction to what he is doing to me. His hand that was squeezing one of my breasts finds its way in between my legs, and his fingers start to rub the small bundle of nerves that I have down there. This isn't the first time that the nerves have been touched, but it is so much better when it is his fingers doing it. He works me into a fever, with the wonder pressure that is growing at my core. I explode in a fit of moans, and muscle contractions.

I suddenly have the desire to make him feel just as good as he has made me feel. I move to take him in my hand and slowly move up and down his length. He closes his eyes and moans. I smile as I watch his facial expressions. His eyebrows furrow and he has a small look as though he is in pain, but I know better. He comes undone in my hand after a few minutes of me continuing to work him.

It takes a few minutes for him to calm his breathing. Once he does, he cleans up and kisses me.

He says, "Thanks for that, you have no idea how long I have wanted you."

"You're welcome, and I am sorry that I did not feel comfortable enough to take it all the way tonight."

"Are you kidding me? I don't want you to do something that would make you uncomfortable for my sake." He says.

He holds me for a while before asking, "Um, Katniss, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"What does this mean for us?"

I don't want to come on too strong by saying that I am in love with him, and that I know what emotions he is feeling based on the way I can sense them. Also I think that I don't have to tell him right away about what I have figured out so far with the bite, and how it has affected me. So I reply, "I like you a lot, and I know that you like me a lot based on what we just did, and all of the times I have caught you staring. So I think that it is safe to say that you are my boyfriend. I mean, if that is okay with you."

He smiles and says, " I would like nothing more than to call you my girlfriend."

He goes deep into thought, frowns and asks, "But what about that Gale guy that you hang out with?"

"He is just my friend and hunting partner. He has helped save my family from starvation, and in return I have helped save his. We owe each other nothing, and have never seen each other as anything other than friends." I say.

"Oh, okay. That makes me feel a lot better."

"What? Does he make you jealous?" I tease.

He frowns and says, "Yes, he does. I have watched you guys smile at each other and hang out. The whole time I have wished that I was him."

I can see how much that has affected him. I feel bad and take him in my arms while saying, "Sorry, I was just teasing. But if it makes you feel better, I think that if anything he should be the jealous one."

He looks at me and smiles, and then says, "Thanks, that makes me feel a whole lot better. Are you sleeping over tonight or are you going to head back to your house?"

"If it is alright I'll sleep here and head out early in the morning."

"I would like that."

We soon fall asleep. When I wake up in the morning well rested, I kiss him and leave. No one is up yet, so no one sees me as I leave and return home. I get home and hope into bed acting like I spent the night here instead of at Peeta's.

After an hour of making it look like I slept in my bed, and thinking about last night, I head out to go hunting. I can't remember the last time that I was this happy.

I see Peeta in his garden. I walk up to him, look around to see if anyone is looking, and give Peeta a kiss while he picks his herbs. I decide that I will explain everything after I hunt. After the kiss I look around again and assume that no one saw us, but in fact only one person saw us. That person is a shocked and sad looking Gale. Gale, who takes a few minutes to compose himself before heading to meet me in the woods, decides that he will confront me on what he saw and how he feels.


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope everyone likes the story so far. Thanks to the people that have let me know what they think so far by either following, reviewing, or favoriting. You guys are the reason that I continue to write it, because if you didn't, then I wouldn't know whether or to continue. The first few chapters of the story were a little slow moving. I will be picking up the pace a little from now on. **

**Disclaimer: I own no rights to the Hunger Games and it's characters.**

**Chapter 3:**

**Peeta POV:**

Katniss kisses me and starts to head into the woods. It's crazy to think that just a day before we were exchanging smiles instead of kisses. I turn and see her friend Gale. He looks like he has some thoughts weighing heavily on his mind. He gets a determined look on his face and starts to head into the woods. A few thoughts cross my mind as he walks past. What if he saw us kissing? What if he decides to try to change Katniss's mind about me? I don't have any idea what he might be thinking, or what he might do. So I decide to follow him.

After a few minutes of trying to find where he went. I find that he is not too far ahead of me, and is stopped with his back to me. I look past him and see Katniss looking up at him while he talks. I need to get closer to hear what is being said. I listen intently while hiding behind a nearby tree. I can just barely hear the conversation.

"So? You and Peeta?" Gale says, but I can tell by his body language that he is holding back his anger.

"How do you know about us Gale?" Katniss asks, taken aback.

"I saw you kissing him!" he explodes.

"Why do you care who I kiss?"

"Because, I love you, and you should be with me and not him, you barely know him!"

"Gale, I love you too. But I love you like family. Very much not in a romantic way." She says as carefully as she can.

He stops and is quiet for a minute before he says, "Well I should have done this a long time ago then."

"Done what?" she asks.

"This." He leans forward and starts to kiss Katniss. I expect her to push him off instantly, but that doesn't happen. I get more and more hurt with every passing second of them kissing. Tears start to rise in my eyes, and my heart feels like it is being flattened by a rock. Gale slowly starts to move back and says; "Think about that kiss and decide who you want. It is either you're with him or me."

Then he brushes past her with a smirk on his face, and starts heading deeper into the woods. I feel like I can't breathe while looking at the open mouthed expression on her face. I have the overwhelming need to run. I step out from behind the tree and start running. I turn back as I run and see Katniss looking at me. She yells my name as I run. So, I try to run faster.

I get to the fence that surrounds the district. I look back one more time, see that she has not followed, and duck into the hole. I run past my house and keep running.

Eventually I find that I ran so far that I end up on the other side of the district. I look around at all of the houses of the seam. I know that this is the worst section of all of twelve with hunger and deaths. There are rumors going around the merchant section of twelve saying that a lot of the deaths aren't because of hunger. But I don't think about that as I go in-between a couple of houses and sit down with my back pressed up against the building. I begin to cry silently as I replay what happened in my mind.

While deep in thought I hear someone say, "Look what we have here." I glance up and to my right while I see a couple of guys that look older than me. I slowly stand and start to back up. I turn around to find another couple of older men on the other side of the alley.

One of the men say, "Hey, isn't he the bakers boy?"

"Yeah, I bet they'll do just about anything to get his boy back." Says another.

"Hey, guys. How about we take him and hold him for a few days, then we will tell his parents that we have him and will give him back for an exchange of money?" Says the man who appears to be older than the rest; I think he may be the leader.

One of the men asks, "What if they tell on us?"

"Well, we will just wear masks, so they don't know who we are." Says the leader.

I try to run past the guys in front of me. One of them punches me in the stomach. I fall to the ground in pain. He asks, "Can we rough him up a little bit?"

The leader replies, "I don't see a problem with it."

I stand and try to throw a punch. It connects with one of the guy's jaw knocking him out. Before I can throw another I feel the men behind me grab my hands to stop me. The one in front of me punches me in the face. I am seeing starts and look back to see him punch me in the stomach again. I hit the ground and feel them start kicking me. The only thing that I can do now is curl into a ball and wait for them to stop.

Then I feel them stop. I look up and see one of the men fly a few feet away and crash into one of the houses. I look back to see Katniss punch another in the face. His head snaps back with blood flying everywhere. She grabs the leader's neck and starts squeezing. She looks at him in the eye and says, "Do not touch him again or I will find and kill you all." Then she knocks him out by slamming his head into the nearby house.

Her glowing eyes fading as she looks back at me, her eyes starting to tear up and says, "Are you alright?"

"I've felt better."

She rushes to me and kneels before me asking, "Where does it hurt the most?"

"I think that physically I feel a lot better than I should. But the fact that I saw you kissing Gale after you said that he was only a friend probably hurts more than anything." I say looking down.

"He kissed me, Peeta! I did not kiss him. The only reason I did not pull back right away is because I was in shock that he even started kissing me in the first place." She says through her tears.

I look up and ask, "So, it meant nothing to you?"

"Of course not. I only want you Peeta, I told you that last night." Her lip quivering as she pulls me in for a kiss. I wince and pull back because of my split lip. She helps me while I stand and we start to walk back to my house with her arms around me.

While walking back we find Gale. She lets me go, steps up to Gale and says, "I choose Peeta. You can either continue being my friend and hunting partner, or you can be an asshole and avoid both of us from now on. Either way I will be with Peeta instead of you. Think about that." Then walks back to me before he can get a word in and grabs my hand. We continue our trek back to my house.

When we make it back, I step inside to find that my brother working. I ask, "Where's mom and dad?"

Rye replies without looking at me, "Mom is out visiting a friend, and dad is out back chopping wood for the oven."

He turns and looks at me, and his mouth falls open for a second. Then he asks, "What the hell happened to you?"

I reply, "I went into the seam and got beat up by a few guys. Katniss saved me."

Rye says, "Oh. I kind of thought you look like when mom…"

I hurry and cut him off with a look toward Katniss. He seems to understand that she doesn't know about the abuse.

"When your mom does what?" Katniss asks with her voice starting to turn angry.

I say, "Nothing."

She turns to me and says, "No, Peeta. You will finish that sentence before I freak out."

I look at Rye and he gives me an approving nod. So I tell Katniss to follow me. My head is down until we reach my room. I make her sit on my bed while I pace in front of her trying to find out where to begin.

I stop and drop my head and say, "Katniss, don't get too worked up with what I am about to tell you. Okay, I need you to promise me."

She grabs my hand, forcing me to look up at her, and says, "I promise."

I give a little smile, before sitting down next to her. I stare straight head of me, and say, "When I was a little kid, life with my family was good. We were a pretty happy family. I don't know what happened, but one day my mom just snapped on my oldest brother Bannock. I think that she just stopped being able to keep up the façade that she was happy. She started to hit him; Rye and I were there while she beat him. I will never forget how he looked after she was finished with him. And I will also never forget what she said to us. She said, 'from now on if any of you ever disrespect me by not doing what I say then I will do to you what I just did to him.' That was one of the types of things that you could never forget. So, from that day forward we did the best we could out of fear. But being young you tend to make mistakes. So over the years there have been mistakes that lead to beatings. They got worse as time went on, and we got better at not receiving beatings. My brother left a few years after the beatings started. We could easily over take our mother, but we just don't. I know that the reason that I don't is because that even though she beats me, I still love her. And that if you are just careful you can avoid them. Do you remember that one time you were outside looking for food and I gave you the bread?"

She says, "Yes, of course I remember, you saved mine and my family's lives."

I say, "I didn't know that. But anyway, after I burned the bread and gave them to you, she beat me. That is the only time that I have purposefully done something that would result in a beating. And now knowing that it saved you, I would do it again." I turn and look at her. She has a stream of tears under her eyes. "I would do it again because I love you Katniss. Always have, and always will."

She kisses me and replies, "I love you too, Peeta. And as long as I am around she will never abuse you again."

* * *

><p>For the rest of the night we sit and tell each other stories, some good, and some bad. When it starts getting dark we sneak down and get some food and return to my room. No one bothers us. We fell asleep in each other's arms that night.<p>

After that day, things got a lot better. She hunts, and I work in the bakery. The next day she told me that since the bite she has a lot more strength, better hearing, the ability to sense emotions, and she can also jump higher. We both don't know why. Sometimes she has trouble keeping her emotions in check.

After a few weeks, Gale even got over himself and started hunting with her again. He still doesn't like that we are together but it is not his choice. Katniss's mom and her sister know that we are together, and only my brother Rye knows. My dad is a little bit suspicious, and my mom does not care.

Almost every night at the exact same time, Katniss comes through my window to spend the night. And every morning, she leaves to go hunting with Gale. We spend as much time together as we can. Most nights we make love, we get a lot better at it, and I figure out all the little quirks that drive her crazy. Life is great, until the day of the Reaping.


	5. Chapter 5

**Apparently I just noticed that I labeled the last chapter as chapter 3, when I meant for it to be chapter 4. Ha ha. That was my bad. Thanks for those who support this story. You guys make it worth it. There is a sexy scene in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 5:**

**Katniss POV:**

Today is the reaping for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. The last few weeks have been the greatest of my life. The last time I was this happy was before my father died.

When I told Peeta about what was happening with me, because of the bite, I expected him to not want to be anywhere near me, but that didn't happen. He told me that he would be there for me whenever I need him. He proved that last night when I was crying because I was scared that Prim would get chosen for the games.

I start getting ready to hunt early in the morning. I find myself staring at my sleeping little sister in her bed. She looks so happy when she sleeps. And I know that when she wakes, she will get that sick to your stomach nervousness that I have gotten every year before the reaping.

On my way out of the district, I stopped by Peeta's house to wished him good luck, because after I get back I will have to head straight home to get ready. My greatest fears as of the past month are losing Prim, and Peeta. Before the bite I would have been sad if he got chosen for the games, but now I don't think I would be able to live with out him.

After an hour of hunting with Gale, we decide to sit and enjoy the freedom of the woods like we do every year. But this year is different; it is my last year for the reaping, and for Gale that was two years ago.

Gale turns to look at me and says, "Hey, how you feeling Catnip?"

"I'm feeling a lot at the moment. I'm happy that it is my last year. I'm sad that it is Prim's first year. I'm scared for Peeta. But even with feeling like that, I feel like something bad will happen." I say.

"Well, if anything happens. You will have all of our support. Just don't forget that."

I give a small smile and say, "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, and I won't forget that."

After a few more minutes, we head back to the district. The atmosphere of the district is like it is every year, depressing. Everywhere there are families that are scared for their family members. If you look hard enough you can find the families that have lost children to the Games. I don't have to look too hard for one of those families, because one of them lives a few houses away.

A few years ago, I lost one of my few friends that I had growing up to the games. Her family is the one that lives a few houses down. Her mom and dad were very supportive of my mom after my dad died. They helped a little to provide for us. But after their daughter died, they stopped caring, and now they barely leave their house. Peeta giving me the bread happened a month after she died.

When I get home, I find my mom helping Prim with a bath. She gets out and starts getting ready. I get into the bath after putting a pan of hot water in so it is not so cold. I soak for a few minutes and think about what it will be like after Prim's last year for the Reaping. I see Peeta and I living together and happy. We don't have kids because I don't want to deal with losing them. Prim would still live with my mom, but she would meet someone who could provide for her.

I shake myself of my thoughts, get out of the bath and dry myself. I put on my mother's dress and help Prim get herself presentable for the Reaping. Once we are ready we leave the house.

When we make it to the reaping, Prim freaks out a little when they go to take her blood. I talk her down and we enter into the zones where we are supposed to wait for the start of the Reaping. We split up when she goes to wait with all of the girls that are the same age as her. I find myself looking around the boy's section for Peeta. When I find him, we make eye contact. He mouths that he loves me, and mouth it back.

We are forced to look away when Effie Trinket starts talking. Some time after she starts, Haymitch Abernathy takes a drunken head dive off the stage. She has a look of embarrassment, and then introduces the presidential video, where President Snow starts talking about why the games exist and why we need them.

Once the video ends, Effie says, "Now is the time to pick the tributes for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. As always, it is ladies first." She moves to the bowl with all of the girl's names in it. She puts her hand in, draws a paper, and then heads back to the microphone. She says, "Primrose Everdeen."

My heart drops and it takes me a moment for my brain to catch up. When it does, I see Prim screaming as they start to lead her to the stage. I run towards her and start saying, "I volunteer as tribute." They don't hear the first time, so I say it louder. Prim starts trying to get to me, but Gale comes and takes her off to where my mom is. I am then lead onto the stage, all the while I try to look for Peeta where I saw him last. I can't spot him anywhere. Effie asks for my name, and I reply. My eyes never leave where he was standing a few minutes before.

She then says, "Now, for the gentlemen."

She moves to the bowl and gets a name. She returns and says, "Peeta Mellark." Now tears start to stream down my face.

I see there become a part in the crowd where Peeta was. Then I see him on the ground with his head in his hands. He realizes that they said his name, and starts to head to the stage. When he gets up on stage and comes to stand near me. I see that he also is crying. Effie says something along the lines of shaking hands. I don't shake his hand. Instead I run, jump at him and start to kiss him. I turn my head back to the crowd, with my head on his shoulder, and find everyone in the crowd has a three-fingered solute, which is meant as a goodbye. I find that I can't move my legs, so Peeta picks me up and starts to move us into the Justice Building. He drops me off at a room, which is meant for goodbyes for the female tributes, then leaves.

After a few minutes, Gale is lead in and promises to take care of my family. We hug and say goodbye, and then he leaves. Next is my old friend Madge. She gives me a mocking jay pin, which I will use as a district token. She leaves, and then my mom and Prim walk into the room.

They give me hugs and Prim says, "You need to come back. I need you. You have to win. Promise me."

I say, "I promise to try my best to win."

I turn to my mom and say, "Mom, you can't check out again. Prim needs you. If I don't come back, she will only have you."

She says, "I won't. But I need to tell you something before the guards come back. I was going to tell you a little bit later, but I can only tell you now. You are a werewolf, Katniss."

I become confused, and say, "What is a werewolf, and how do you know what that is?"

She sighs, and says, "A werewolf is someone who was bitten by another werewolf. They gain the abilities that you have. They also gained the ability to change into certain degrees of a wolf, but that depends on how angry you are. You can be mad enough to give yourself glowing eyes and fangs, or you could be mad enough to turn full wolf. And the reason that I know all of this is because your dad was a werewolf. I don't know if it is genetic, he was bitten after Prim was born. The only other thing I know is that when you choose a mate, they will be your mate for life. Oh, and I am not one hundred percent sure, but I think that your father's death was not an accident. Gale's dad, who also died in the accident, was a werewolf too. There might have been others, and I think they were killed so that they can't try to overthrow the government. So, when you get to the capital try not to let anyone know. Or else they might work harder to kill you."

"Thanks for telling me, Mom. I love you both." I say. Then the guards move to take my family out of the room. As soon as they leave, more come to lead me to the train that takes us to the capital.

Once on the train, I find Peeta sitting at a table with a wide variety of foods. He sees that I have entered and gets up. He moves to me and wraps me into his arms. After a few minutes of him holding me, Effie and Haymitch enter.

Effie says excitedly, "I can't believe that you two are a couple. The people of the capital will eat you up." She then leaves to tell the crew that we are ready to go.

Haymitch rolls his eyes and takes a seat at the table then says, "Doesn't matter, you both will die anyway."

My anger rises as I turn to him and yell, "Don't you dare ever say that again, one of us is coming back, and I will fight with every fiber in my body to make that be Peeta."

Peeta says, "Katniss, sweetheart, calm down."

I turn to Peeta and say, "I will not calm down if this asshole continues to say that shit."

When I turn back to Haymitch, I see that he is staring at me with a puzzled look on his face. He stands and walks towards me, and stares into my eyes.

He asks, "What are your names again?"

Peeta says, "I'm Peeta Mellark, and she is Katniss Everdeen."

He says while still staring into my eyes, "Well, lover boy, your girlfriend was right, one of you will be returning and I am sorry to say that it won't be you."

I become so angry that I am sure my eyes start to glow. I then punch him in the face as hard as I can. He hits the ground hard. Peeta wraps me up to stop me from hitting him more.

Haymitch, while on the ground, starts to laugh. Both Peeta and me stop to stare at him. I'm trying hard to get my anger under control.

He stands and I see that there is not a mark on his face. He says, "I haven't been hit that hard in a while. It is nice to meet a new werewolf."

I stare at him while my anger turns to surprise, then say, "How do you know?"

Peeta asks, "What is a werewolf?"

Haymitch laughs again and says, "You didn't even tell the boy! That is funny."

I cross my arms and glare. "Well, I only just figured it out twenty minutes ago."

This makes him laugh harder. Peeta turns me to him and asks again, "Katniss, what is a werewolf?"

I say, "Apparently, the animal that bit me was a werewolf. That is where my changes came from. Also, I can turn into a wolf. I don't plan to anytime soon, but I guess I might. Oh, and I guess if we didn't know this before, you are my mate for life."

Peeta says, "Oh." And then sits down while trying to process the information. I sit on his lap.

I look back at Haymitch, who is filling his glass with what I believe is alcohol. He says, "There is more that you need to know. You can turn others into werewolves if you want by biting them, but only while in wolf form. You probably also don't know that a werewolf's mate can't be turned. That has something to do with if you guys have kids, they can't have wolf genes come from two places. Oh, and there are four forms of you turning wolf. You just turned into your first form. Which gives you glowing eyes and fangs. The second gives a little bit of fur and long nails. Third form gives more fur, and pointed ears. Fourth is that you will look exactly like a wolf. Each form comes at different stages of anger, and each gets more and more hard to control. And also each form is stronger than the last. You think she is strong now, you should see her when she is full wolf. Man, it is scary. If you work hard enough you can control each stage without being angry."

I say, "That is interesting and all, but you still didn't tell us how you know."

He says, while sitting on the opposite side of the table, "Well, sweetheart, I know you are because your eyes were glowing when you hit me. Not hard to put two and two together. By the way, don't let anyone else know, unless I give you the okay. Oh, and I know because I am also a werewolf."

My fists start to clench as I say, "Are you the one who bit me?"

He says, "No, I am not. I haven't turned anyone for years. The last ones who I did were killed."

I calm down and ask, "Did you know my father?"

He sighs, and says, "I was wondering when you would ask that. Yes, I knew your father. We were friends when we were young. I was the one who bit him. And before you get worked up. I did it because he asked for it."

Confused I ask, "Why did he ask for it?"

He says, "I'll tell you that another time. I was bitten when I first arrived in the capital. It helped me win. As it will help you."

Peeta asks, "Well if you are a werewolf, where is your mate? Did she die?"

Haymitch takes a drink, and then says, "Yeah, I have a mate, but she is very much alive."

Effie walks back into the room, Haymitch says, "And here she is."

Effie crosses the train car and sits next to him, then says, "And here I am what?"

Haymitch says, "Katniss here, is a werewolf like me. And Peeta is her mate, like you are mine."

Effie give a big smile, and says, "I can't believe it. You two just keep getting better and better. Oh, and don't worry, I won't tell."

We end up telling them how we got together. After a few hours, it is dinner and we eat a lot of the great food. Then they take us to our rooms. I change into something to sleep in, and sneak over to Peeta's room.

When I get there, I open the door. I don't see him. So I check the bathroom. I poke my head in and see him naked standing in the shower. He jumps when he sees me in the doorway. Then says, "Katniss, please don't sneak up on me like that. You just scared the crap out of me."

I give a little laugh, step into the bathroom and shut the door. I peel off my sleep ware, I see his eyes glaze over, and I start making my way to the shower. He says, "What are you doing?"

I say, "Coming to shower with the love of my life. Why? Do you not want me to?"

He looks down at my naked body, and says, "I want to shower with you for the rest of my life. But there is a problem."

I lick my lips and say, "What is the problem?"

"I don't know how to turn it on."

I laugh, and say, "Doesn't your house have a shower?"

"Yeah it does, but this one is like a thousand times more complicated."

"Well let's try to figure it out."

After a few minutes, we get it working. He starts to spread soap all over me and helps me rinse off. I close my eyes and only think of the fire that he is starting to cause in me. He rubs my breasts from behind me, while kissing my neck. I position my hands on the wall when he moves lower. Once he hits my core, he starts to rub my clit. It feels so good that after a few minutes I explode. I turn and push him to the wall and kiss him hungrily.

I say, "I want to try something new on you."

He says, "Okay."

I get down on my knees and position my mouth near his member. I look up at him, and see his eyes wide in question. I grab and stroke him, and then I lick his tip. He groans loudly. I take him in my mouth. I stroke, suck and lick him for a few minutes then he says between breaths, "Katniss. I'm about to…." He gets cut off when I moan around him. He explodes into my mouth. I get a good taste of him, and swallow.

He slides to the ground, looks at me and says, "Did you just…"

"Yes, I did. And it tasted great."

He looks at me dumbstruck and says, "That is so hot."

He stands and turns off the water and says, "Come with me." I follow. He grabs a few towels and dries us both. After we get dry, he hurries over to the door to make sure that it is locked.

Once he locks it, he turns and says, "You gave me an idea. And I hope that it is as good as what you did for me."

I give him a questionable look and he starts to walk towards me. He grabs my face and brings me into a toe-curling kiss. Then he starts to back me up until my legs hit the bed. He slowly brings me down and starts to kiss his way down my body. Once he is between my legs, my head falls back and I moan as he give one long lick. He licks and sucks slowly at first. Then he starts to pick up the pace and gives a little more pressure. He works his way to my clit and starts giving quick licks. I am writhing in pleasure. He then puts two fingers inside of me, and I come undone loudly.

I am trying to get my voice back as he lies down next to me. He says, "I hope you liked that as much as I did." I can only nod my head as fast as I can. He chuckles.

After a few minutes, I get my breathing under control and go put my clothes back on. I return to the bed to find him with the covers pulled back waiting for me to slide in next to him.

I lie down and put my head on his chest and say, "I love you Peeta. I wish we could just stay like this forever."

He says, "I love you too. No matter what happens, remember that. I will try to get you home to your family."

I look up at him and say, "No, I am going to try to get you back home."

He gives a sad smile and says, "I know you will. I will try hard too. You know why I will. Get to sleep, we will arrive at the capitol tomorrow."

I put my head back on his chest and listen to his heart as it turns to a steady rhythm. Then I close my eyes and sleep takes over.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello. I would like to start up with saying, thanks to all of those who have followed, favorite, and reviewed this story. I find myself looking forward to seeing what you guys think of it so far. I have been deciding whether or not to do another story. It would be of a different genre and story. I'll let you guys know with what I decide, if any of you wanted to check it out. Now, here is the next chapter of the story. There is a sexy scene at the end of the chapter. This chapter is a little bit longer.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 6:**

**Peeta POV:**

I find myself waking up with the feeling of Katniss wrapped around me. Opening my eyes, I look at the beauty of the love of my life. Ever since we have gotten together, I have thanked the forces that be, for her love. She looks pleasant while she sleeps. I don't want to mess with that by waking her up to the nightmare that we are in. I have already decided that I will do anything in the arena so that she can come out as victor. I know that she will try to make it so I come out alive, but I don't want to come out if she dies. I won't be able to live with myself if she dies and I survive.

I see her starting to wake. I wait for her to say something, but she doesn't. I know she is having the same thoughts that I did when I awoke. Instead, she looks up at me with her head still on my chest. We sit and stare into each other for a few minutes. We are both brought out of our thoughts when we hear a knock on the door.

I get out of bed and go to open the door. It's Effie in a brightly colored dress that stands on the other side. I step aside to let her in. She walks over to the bed and sits down.

Effie says, "I hope you both slept well. Today is going to be a big day. We will arrive in the capital to a fairly larger crowd than usual."

I ask, "Why is that?"

She replies, "Because when she" she points at Katniss, "threw herself at you instead of shaking your hand. It made the people of the capital go crazy. Sure, there have been a romance or two in the arena over the years. But nothing like what you two have. You are the first real couple to go into the games. Haymitch thinks that we will be able to use this to our advantage. So, last night, he called someone in the capital and confirmed that you guys are together. Haymitch is very smart, and knows a lot of very influential people. He also knows how the capital works, so listen to what he says. We both firmly believe that one of you will come out of this for sure. But he has been working on a plan to try to get both of you out."

Katniss says, "Wait, both of us?"

Effie says, "Yes, but you both need to trust him for us to have a shot of this working. He told me to come in here and let you both know. I have never seen him put so much effort already for any of our past tributes. Also, when we arrive, which will be in the next hour or so, don't hold back how you guys act. A critical point in the plan is that you let everyone know that your love each other is real. When we arrive; wave to the crowd, hold hands, and kiss if you feel comfortable. When we get to the building of the parade you will both be split up for a few hours to meet with your individual prep teams. After that is the tribute parade. Then we will go back to where we will stay until the morning of the games. So, get ready and look nice. Meet back in the food car."

Effie stands up, straightens her clothes and goes to leave. She turns back around before she leaves and says, "Oh, and don't talk about the plan until we are in a place where we can talk without the capital listening." Then she leaves.

I turn to Katniss and say, "I'm going to go back to my room and get ready."

I kiss the top of her head and leave. I get back to my room and hop in for a quick shower. After the shower, I put on a t-shirt and pants. My stomach growls as I head to the food car. When I walk in, I find Haymitch talking to Effie by the table.

I grab a quick plate of food and sit down.

I ask, "How big of a crowd are we expecting?"

Haymitch answers, "A pretty big one. It will probably be about as big as the crowds that appear for the career tributes. If not, bigger than."

I nod my head, and then look back down at my plate and start eating. After a few minutes of idle conversation, we are joined by Katniss.

Haymitch says, "So, I hope you both understand the position we are in. I have already talked to each of your stylists, they know about what the plan is, and they are on board to help."

Katniss asks suspiciously, "Why are they on board? We haven't even met yet."

Haymitch replies, "Cinna, who is your stylist sweetheart, has known about werewolves for a long time. He can be trusted with your secret. Portia, who is lover boy's, found out about them a few years back. She can also be trusted. But don't mention anything to them, because of the eavesdropping of the capital."

"Okay, we understand." I say.

Haymitch looks out the window and says, "We're here."

I turn and look out at the approaching city. It looks huge even from this distance. We enter into a dark tunnel. Then the train starts to slow down. A couple of Peace Keepers enters the car and says that it is time to leave. I grab Katniss' hand and we follow the Peace Keepers. They lead us to the door that we entered the train from. They talk into a microphone saying that we are ready. I turn to look at Katniss; she turns at the same time. As we look at each other, the door opens to the screams of a huge crowd. We look back out at all of the cheering people of the crowd. I decide to give them a little something. So I turn to Katniss and press my hand to her cheek. I lean in and guide her to my lips. It is not a long kiss, but enough to make the crowd go crazy. I pull back and give her a smile, and she smiles back at me. We turn and are lead to a nearby car. The whole time the crowd is chanting our names.

The door shuts behind me. Haymitch says, "Great job. That will get people talking."

I nod and look out the window at all of the huge buildings we pass. After a while of driving, we arrive at what I assume is the stadium for the parade. We are ushered out of the car and into the building.

Haymitch says, "I'll go with Katniss, and Effie will go with Peeta. We will meet back here in a few hours."

I give Katniss a quick kiss, and follow Effie.

She says, "Portia is a good friend of mine. She will take good care of you. Don't worry about Katniss, Cinna is great."

Eventually, we make it to a room, which I assume is where I will be prepped. I sit down on a nearby chair. Effie leaves the room, and I am alone for a few minutes. A few people burst into the room and make their way to me. I stand and shake their hands as they tell me their names. They strip me of my clothes, which makes me feel uncomfortable, and start to work at making me look better.

After they get done with working on my body, they start to cut my hair. They get done with getting me ready, and I get put into a black outfit. They take me to a nearby mirror and I look at the seemingly different person in front of me. I turn around to see that the people who helped me get ready are gone and one person stands in front of me.

I walk toward her saying, "Hi, I'm Peeta, and I assume that you are Portia."

She nods her head and says, "Yes, I am."

We shake hands and then she says quietly, "I hope you know that I am on your side. I am helping because a few years ago, I found out that the love of my life was like yours. They got taken from me, and I vowed to never let that happen again to someone like us."

I give a sad smile and say, "Thanks, but if it were my choice, she would be alive at the end. Not me. So, don't just focus on me. Try to help her more than me."

She says, "Okay, I'll try. But you know how we are trying to make the outcome. So, don't give up."

I nod and we leave to head back to where we are supposed to meet the others.

We arrive back and I find Katniss talking to a man who I assume is Cinna. I walk up to her, she turns to me, and I give her a kiss. I pull back and say, "You look beautiful."

"Thanks. You're looking good too. Peeta, this is Cinna." She says gesturing to the man.

I shake his hand and say, "Nice to meet you, Cinna. I'm sure that it will be great having you with us."

He smiles and says, "Happy to be here. Katniss told me a lot about you."

Before I can reply, I look over and see a fairly large boy glaring at us.

Cinna follows my eyes and says, "That is Cato. He is going to be a favorite to win. Try to steer clear of him. I don't think you can trust him."

I nod at turn around and see Portia, Haymitch, and Effie walking toward us.

Haymitch says, "You know the plan. We will talk after at the rooms."

He leads us to a nearby horse drawn carriage and says, "You guys have done pretty well so far with the crowds, keep it up." then he helps us into the back.

When we get situated, I turn to Katniss and ask, "Are you ready for this?"

She sighs and says, "I'm not ready for any of this. But I'll try my best."

I nod and grab her hand.

We hear the music start, which signifies the start of the parade. We wait for all of the other districts to go, before our cart starts rolling. When we get near the end of the tunnel, we turn and start to kiss each other. The crowd gets louder when we emerge. Then a few seconds later, they get even louder. I get confused and pull back to see why. When I do, I look at Katniss and her dress is on fire. I'm surprised to say the least. The dress looks like it was made for the flames, so I relax. I look down and find that my clothes are also on fire. We smile at each other and look out to the crowds. We circle around at the end of the road and the president says something about the games. I don't pay attention; my focus is on holding Katniss' hand. I look up to see President Snow looking toward us. The cart starts moving again. And we head back to the tunnel where we came from.

* * *

><p>We arrive back at the huge place where our rooms are, and we follow Haymitch up a small flight of stairs until we arrive at the roof.<p>

Haymitch turns to us and says, "This is the only spot where we can talk about the plan. There are no microphones up here for sure. The wind is too bad for them to pick anything up. So, if you have any questions or ideas, say them here. Okay?"

We nod and head back downstairs. We have a dinner and he tells us that tomorrow is the first day of group training. There will be two group sessions, and one solo session. After that the interviews will be on the night of the solo session, then the games the next day. He tells us that we are not supposed to train with our best strengths, and to worry about things we aren't familiar with. He also tells us to not worry about allies. He tells us that we might have a pretty rough time with other tributes this year, but he doesn't think anyone other than Katniss is a werewolf. He also tells her to definitely not show anyone what she can do, and keep her abilities as quiet as she can. We understand and head to our rooms.

We head to my room first to pick up a pair of clothes for sleep, and for in the morning. We shower and get into bed exhausted from the long day.

* * *

><p>In the morning, we head down to the first day of training. It goes pretty well. I learn a lot about which plants to stay away from and that sort of thing. The whole time we see Cato and his allies training hard. Every now and then we find him staring at us like he is trying to figure out if we are dangerous, he has no idea.<p>

The next day goes by like the last. We learn a lot, but Katniss becomes friends with one other tribute from district 11, by the name of Rue. I think she reminds her of Prim, but I don't say anything. Rue is nice and trains with us.

On the day of the solo training sessions, I am a little more nervous than I was before. It is probably because Katniss won't be with me. We decide that I should try to show them my strength. So, the whole time I lift and throw things. They seem pretty impressed throughout, but they mainly sit and talk to each other. Near the end, I decide to get trained by one of the helpers in wrestling. He tells me that I picked things up quickly and that he will make sure the game makers know. After Katniss gets done with her solo session, she says that it did not go quite as well as she would have liked. I decide not to ask until we get back to the apartment.

When we walk in, we find Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, and Portia, waiting around the television. I tell them how my session went, and they tell me I did a good job. When they ask Katniss, she brushes them off saying that she did okay.

Haymitch says, "Don't give me that. How did you do?"

Katniss says, "Fine. I messed up."

Cinna asks, "What did you do?"

She says, "They weren't paying attention. So, I shot at them."

Effie says, "You shot at them!"

Katniss replies, "Yeah, but it didn't hit any of them. I shot an apple out of the mouth of the roasted pig they had."

Haymitch starts laughing and says, "You get better and better everyday sweetheart. And how did they react?"

Katniss says, "One of them fell into their punch bowl."

Cinna gives off a laugh, while Effie says, "Katniss! You should not have done that."

I say, "Well, there is nothing we can do about it now."

The show starts shortly after and starts giving scores. Like expected, the careers get pretty high scores. They get to my name.

"And now for the fan favorites of District 12. Peeta Mellark gets an 8."

I breathe a sigh of relief. I did not want to get low. That would have been embarrassing.

"Now for the girl on fire, Katniss Everdeen. She gets a surprising 11."

I give a little cheer. I definitely did not think she would get that high of a score for shooting the game makers.

Haymitch says, "Well, that is bad."

I ask, "Why is that bad?"

He says, "Because now she will be the one to go after. If a career gets a high score, they would be likely to get allies. But with someone from a lesser district, they might think they have something to prove by taking her out. She will be harder to kill. So, it might cause questions about why she can kill others so easily. Katniss, you need to get to a weapon fast, so you don't have to worry about using your strength. Don't worry about the bow at first, grab a bag for you and Peeta and get out. Peeta, stay out of the Cornucopia, and wait for her. If all goes right you will be together."

We agree and go get ready for the interviews with Cinna and Portia. When we get down to the place where the interviews are, we get directed to where we wait for our turn. During the interviews most of the tributes seem confident and nice. Some seem nervous and scared. I decide to try to give a little humor, and play with their hearts. I tell Haymitch my plan to get more sponsors, he agrees. I don't tell Katniss what I have planned, but I ask her not to be angry with me. Caesar Flickerman's interview with Katniss starts.

Caesar says, "Now for the girl on fire herself, Katniss Everdeen."

She walks over to Caesar and waves to the crowd. Caesar says, "Katniss, tell us about the young girl that you volunteered for."

She says, "That young girl is my little sister Prim. This was her first year and she was reaped. So, I did the only thing that I could do at the time, now here I am."

Caesar nods, and then says, "That's great that you love your sister. Katniss, tell us about that beautiful dress you had on for the parade."

Katniss says, "Well, I thought the dress was beautiful when I put it on. My stylist, Cinna, told me that it did something very special. But he didn't tell me what. So, I was pretty surprised when we found out that they lit on fire." This gets a good laugh out of the crowd.

Caesar says, "Ah, yes. That would be very surprising. Now please tell us about Peeta."

She says, "Peeta and I got together not too long ago. I love him very much."

He asks, "When were you first interested in him?"

She replies, "Well, I had known of him for a long time. But I first started to truly care for him when he helped me and my family out of a tough situation." The buzzer goes off signifying the end of her interview. She says goodbye and heads off the stage.

Then it is my turn. I walk out when he introduces me and shake his hand. He says, "Look at this handsome man folks." Which gets a cheer.

I smile and wave to the crowd. Then he asks, "So Peeta, What is your favorite thing so far about the capital?"

I say, "Definitely the showers. Now tell me Caesar, do I smell like roses?"

He smells me and agrees. Which gets a good laugh from the crowd.

He asks, "Peeta, please do tell us about home."

I say, "I grew up with my parents being the bakers of district twelve. I hope I can make them proud."

Caesar says, "They probably are, now tell us about your relationship with the beautiful Katniss Everdeen."

I say, "I have loved her for as long as I can remember. I first saw her when I was little; I thought she was the most beautiful girl ever. But she won my heart when I first heard her sing, I have been a goner ever since. We finally got together about a month before the reaping. I'm not only sad that we did not get enough time together, I'm also sad about something else."

He asks interested, "Peeta, what else makes you sad?"

I turn to the crowd and say, "Now, we can't get married like we had planned."

The crowd gasps, and the buzzer rings telling us that my interview is over. I stand and the crowd cheers loudly. I walk off stage after giving Caesar a handshake and head toward Haymitch, Effie and Katniss. Haymitch gives me a good job. Effie has tears in her eyes. Katniss has a streak of tears from her eyes and steps towards me. She gives me a kiss, and hugs me.

Katniss says, "I'm not angry that you did that. In fact, I wish that it were true."

I give her a small smile and say, "I do too."

Haymitch grabs our shoulders and gently leads us to back to the elevator that will lead us back up to our floor. When we arrive back, we have a light dinner to help settle our nerves for tomorrow. After dinner, Haymitch tells us to meet up at the roof.

Haymitch says on the roof, "Now you guys know the plan for tomorrow. We will be working hard to get both of you out. We might not be able to but don't lose faith. One of you will leave this arena for sure, so stay together. Katniss, if you get split up you won't be able to find him by scent."

"Why?"

"Because the capital knows about werewolves. They have found a way to make it so you can't find anyone by scent and you won't be able to sense emotions, but you will be able to use your strength, speed, and jumping abilities. But those are dead giveaways. So, restrain yourself. And try to keep your anger in check."

She nods and we head back to her room. We take a shower and lay down in bed.

She turns to me and says, "Peeta, I'm ready."

I turn to her and ask, "Ready for what?"

She says, "To have actual sex."

My eyes go wide and I say, "Are you sure?"

She nods, and reaches toward her side table and says, "I found these this morning."

She pulls out a small square package and says, "I think they thought that we have sex constantly."

I smile, lean forward and kiss her. We kiss for a few minutes, and then she sits up and takes her clothes off. I follow her lead and start stripping myself as well. Once the last piece of clothing hits the floor, I return to kissing her. She moans into my mouth, and I run my hands up her body. I take each breast in my hands and start working her. She arches her back when I take a nipple and give it a gentle squeeze. I start kissing down her jaw, and behind her ear. She moves to grant me better access. I kiss her collarbone and move one of my hands to cup her sex, finding her core wet and ready. She bucks up into my hand and I run my fingers in circles around her clit.

She grabs my hand and looks me in the eyes and says with glowing eyes, "Peeta, I need you inside of me now."

I continue my assault on her neck as I tear the small square open. This is my first time trying to put a condom on. I lean back and start to look for directions on the best way to put it on. Katniss gives a little laugh and grabs the condom. I look at her as she wraps her hand around me. I groan, as she strokes me a few times, then pinches the tip of the condom and starts to roll it on me. Once it is on, I position myself at her entrance. I look at her in question, and she gives a nod to answer my silent question. I slowly push into her. I stop when she looks in pain and wait for her to tell me to continue. When she does, I continue to go until I am as far as I can go. I give her another minute to adjust.

She says, "Move Peeta."

I pull back until I am almost all the way out. Then I slowly move back in. After a few strokes, she tells me to go faster, so I do. Then she says, harder, I comply. Eventually, she is chanting my name. It takes a few minutes before I get the feeling that I might explode. I tell her and she says that she is almost there too. When I feel her start to clench in orgasm, I let go. We both try our best to ride out our orgasms. When they end, I collapse on top of her in a fit of exhaustion.

Once we get our breathing back under control, I say, "I love you."

She says, "I love you too."

I say, "Katniss, please don't do anything in the arena tomorrow that would separate us."

She replies, "I will try not to, but we will need the supplies. After we get what we need, we will leave."

I nod, and move to hold her. She lays her head on my chest and I close my eyes and have the last great dream that I will have for a while.

**Next: The Games Begin.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks again to all of those who have favorite, reviewed, and followed this story. You guys are worth the effort to continue writing. When I first started this, I didn't think I would get the response that it has been getting. It is great you guys like it. I still have not decided whether or not to do another story. This chapter will be a little different; it will be the points of view for both Katniss and Peeta. I hope that everyone has a very happy holiday season.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters. **

**Chapter 7: The Games, Part 1.**

**Katniss POV:**

I wake up in the arms of Peeta. It is a little bit early to be awake, but I would rather have a little time with him before the games start, than to go back to sleep. I know that he needs to sleep a little bit longer. He needs his energy; after all he is still human. I lift my head and position myself so I can look at him. He looks so peaceful. I lay there caressing his cheek with my hand.

After about an hour or two, there is a knock on the door. Peeta startles awake, when I move to go open it. The door opens to Haymitch. He looks to Peeta, then back to me and says, "It's time."

* * *

><p>I follow behind Haymitch as he walks me towards the hovercraft that will take us to the arena. We get there just in time to see Rue's last words to her district mentor. She looks to me, gives a little wave, and then heads into the craft.<p>

Her mentor walks over to us and says, "Please watch over Rue in the arena. I have already asked Thresh, but she is such a sweet girl. And I want her to have all the help she can get."

I reply, "I promise that I'll try my best to look after her. She doesn't deserve this."

"No one does." she says as she walks away.

I look to Haymitch and he gives me an approving nod. Then he says, "Once again, you know the plan. Now all you have to do is survive."

I say, "Of course. I'll see you on the other side." Then I give his shoulder a little punch.

He smiles, and puts his hands on my shoulders, gives me a nod, and then turns to leave.

I step towards the hovercraft. The guard says something into his radio about my arrival as I step on the craft. I give Rue a smile as I walk to the last open seat in this hovercraft. I sit and a woman walks up to me. She grabs my arm, pulls out a needle, and puts it into my arm. I ask what that is for, and she says that its a tracker. When she goes to remove the needle, I hurry and move my arm so that she doesn't see my skin heal. She gives me a weird look and walks away. We sit in silence for the rest of the trip.

We are brought off of the craft one by one. When it is my turn, I step down and see Cinna waiting for me by doors into the ground. I walk with him down a dark corridor, and after a few turns we make it to a room with a giant tube in it.

Cinna turns to me and says, "We only have a minute before you leave. Not only is Peeta and your family expecting you to come out. I am, too. I believe in you girl on fire. Now when you go out there, prove that you are the true victor of these games. Bring Peeta out too."

I hug him, with a tear falling from my eye. I go to speak, but I am cut off by a speaker saying to enter the tubes. He straightens my outfit and shows me my hidden district token. I smile and head to the tube. I get in, turn around, and look to Cinna. He gives me a smile, and the tube starts to rise.

When I get to the top, I look around to see what kind of arena this is. The Cornucopia is in the middle of a meadow that is surrounded by woods. _Great_, I think looking around. I turn my attention to the other tributes. I look to all of their faces in search of Peeta. I spot him near one of the careers. He spots me at nearly the same time. I smile at him and look toward the weapons and supplies. I finally spot what I want, the bow, but it is on the other side of the weapons cache. I look back to Peeta, and like he read my mind, he gives a small shake of his head. I know that it would be stupid to try for it, but I need it so that I won't show my strength.

The countdown begins. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Once we are given our go, I hop off my pedestal and run towards the weapons. I glance towards Peeta and see him running towards the woods. Good, now I know where he is headed. I get to the weapons and grab a sword and a long knife, and then I move to the supplies and grab two backpacks. I turn just in time to see a girl running towards me with a spear. I back up and press my back to the side of the Cornucopia dropping my bags in the process; she doesn't get to me because she gets tackled from the side by another girl. I stand there stunned with my back pressed to the metal. I watch as the girl, who was about to try and kill me, dies. The other girl stands and looks at me, then she grins and runs at me. She throws her knife at me, which I easily dodge. When she gets close enough, I smack her upside the head with the handle of the sword. She falls to the ground, unconscious.

To the side of me, I hear the sound of two boys colliding. I don't glance over, thinking that this is the perfect opportunity to leave. I grab the backpacks and run in the direction of where I saw Peeta enter the woods.

* * *

><p><strong>Peeta POV: <strong>

I jump off my pedestal and start my journey towards the woods. I look back and see Katniss running towards the weapons. She grabs a few, and then heads to the packs. She grabs two bags and then stands. I see a girl running towards her. I tense up, until another girl starts to attack the girl that was going to try to go after Katniss. I watch Katniss drop her bags and press her back to the Cornucopia. I know that she is startled and can't turn away as a girl kills another.

So, I run as fast as I can to her. As I near Katniss, I see a boy sneaking up the side of the Cornucopia towards her. I run harder and tackle the boy. He is momentarily shocked, and then starts to fight back. We are throwing punches, and rolling on the ground. I finally get the upper hand and bring my fist back to hit him in the face, but I don't get to. My hand is grabbed from behind and a cold knife is pressed to my throat. I slowly stand, and turn around to see that Cato is the one with the knife.

He says, "Well, well, If it isn't bread boy. Where is your girlfriend?"

I look towards where I last saw her. She isn't there. So, I assume she ran to the woods in where she saw me run. I put my head down.

Cato says, "That doesn't look like an answer."

I keep my head down.

He says, "Not talking? Fine." He then punches me in the face, really hard. I hit the ground, knocked out.

* * *

><p>I wake up with my hands tied behind my back on the ground. I think to myself; <em>what do I remember. I remember running towards Katniss. Also I remember tackling some guy, fighting him, then getting knocked out by Cato.<em> I don't think that I can remember a time when I got hit that hard. Something is off about his strength. He has to be more than human. If I see Katniss again, I'll let her know. My head hurts, and my left eye is swollen shut. I can only see out of my right eye.

I hear a voice, "Cato, he is awake."

I look up from the ground and see four people walking towards me. There is Cato, and the boy named Marvel. I know that I was fighting Marvel before I got knocked out. I can see that Marvel has a black eye. _Good, _I think to myself. I think that the others are named Glimmer and Clove. Cato must have found a sword. Marvel has a spear. Clove has a few long knives. And apparently Glimmer was the one to grab Katniss' bow.

The others stop as Cato walks towards me. He crouches down in front of me and says, "Get up bread boy. Let's go get your girlfriend."

He grabs my arms and lifts me to my feet. When I'm standing, Marvel walks up to me and punches me in the stomach.

He says, "That is for my eye."

Cato says, "Okay. That's enough." Then he looks back at me and says, "For now."

Marvel moves behind me and pushes me forward. I follow the others with him behind me. Every now and then we hear something in the woods near us. We stop momentarily, and then continue. We end up walking until it is getting dark. When we finally stop Marvel shoves me, forcing me to fall.

Cato says, "Me and Marvel are going to go and look around. You guys watch him until we get back."

Glimmer says, "Don't worry. He isn't going anywhere."

Glove says, while looking at me up and down, "Yeah, well watch him real well."

Cato nods at Marvel, and they leave. I press myself against a tree and look down at my feet.

After a few minutes, Glimmer goes to find a few pieces of wood to try and start a fire.

Clove walks up to me, crouches in front of me and says, "Look at me, Peeta." I look up.

Then she says, "I find you kind of cute bread boy. Way Cuter than Marvel. Do you find me cute?"

"No."

"Why not?" she asks.

"Because I am in love with Katniss."

"Aw, come on. I thought that was for sponsors." She says with a pout on her face.

I shake my head and look back down. She moves to get closer, and says, "What is to stop me from kissing you to try to change your mind?"

I say, "It won't work."

She leans in to kiss me. I roll out of the way. Before I can go too far, she jumps and pins my shoulders to the ground.

She says, "Now Peeta. This will go a lot smoother if you don't struggle."

Before she can kiss me though, Cato and Marvel come back. Cato has some blood on his face.

Marvel asks, "Clove, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. He was trying to sneak away. Why, are you jealous?"

Marvel replies, "No. I am not jealous. Even if I was, you would be missing out."

She looks back down at me with a smirk and says, "Yes, I certainly would."

I move my head to the side. Marvel says, through gritted teeth, "Not on him. On me."

Clove laughs, moves off of me, and then walks away. Marvel walks up to me. He says, "Stay away from her. She is mine."

I nod.

Then he kicks me in the chest, knocking the wind out of my lungs. He walks away saying, "That's for trying to leave."

Cato makes his way to me, with a rope in hand. He turns me on my stomach and grabs the rope that is tied around my wrists. He picks me up and moves me to a nearby tree. He ties one end of the rope to my wrist, then he ties the other end around the tree. He says walking away, "You won't be able to sneak away now."

I sit and watch them work to get a fire going after Glimmer returns. I work my wrists, silently trying to loosen the rope. I figure out that I'm not getting anywhere. So I sit defeated and close my eyes. I think of Katniss as I fall asleep, and I hope she is safe.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss POV:<strong>

I wake up in a tree after a long night of looking for Peeta. I swear that I saw him heading into this direction in the woods yesterday. I looked all day until it became night. Last night while I was in the tree I heard voices near my location. It ended up being Cato and Marvel. They killed a girl that started a fire near my position. I didn't know her, but I still feel bad that she was killed. I might have been able to help her take them down, but I didn't want to risk it. I just hope that Peeta hid well during the night.

I hop down from the tree and grab my things. Then I head in the opposite direction from where I saw Cato and Marvel leave. I walk for an hour. I hear nothing, and I look for fresh water. One of the bags had a bottle of water in it. I drank it all, but there was not a lot to begin with. The other bag has a bottle, but it is empty. While looking for water, I am also looking for Peeta, or anyone I may come across.

I slow down when I look ahead and see a bright light off to the distance that is growing bigger. It flies past me and explodes into a tree. I see flames erupting behind me and I run. I am dodging fireballs as I try to navigate my way through the woods. The huge fireballs stop when there is fire all around me. I think that I am finally safe from the threat, but I figure out I'm not when one last ball hits near my leg. My leg burns as I run away from the fire.

I finally make it to a small lake and jump in. While in the water, I feel pain in my leg. I look at it and figure out that it is not healing like normal. The water helps with the pain, but it does not make it go away. I figure that there is something special about the fire that makes it difficult for a werewolf to heal.

I decide to fill the water bottles. As I fill them I look off in the distance to see five figures standing on the other side of the small lake. I hurry and move to hide myself behind a big rock near the edge. Apparently it is not big enough, because one of them spots me. I turn and run back into the woods.

_Maybe they won't think I'm in a tree and they will pass by, _I think as I run. So I start climbing. I position myself on a branch about halfway up the tree. I look down and see Cato running past. A few seconds later, Marvel slows to a stop near my tree. He tries to catch his breath, while; of course, a branch that I am holding breaks and makes a noise.

Marvel looks up at me, smiles and yells, "Hey! I found her!"

A few seconds later, Cato shows back up and is staring up at me as the others arrive. I see Glimmer walk up to Cato laughing, then I see Clove walk up holding a rope attached to another person. They probably tied him up so that he won't run away or fight them. The boy looks up and our eyes connect.

It's Peeta!

**Next up: The Games, Part 2.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello. Sorry that it took me so long to put up the next chapter. I recently started a new job. So, I have been a little bit distracted. Thanks to those of you who have favorite, reviewed, and followed this story. You guys are awesome. I hope everyone likes it so far. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 8: The Games, Part Two.**

* * *

><p><strong>Peeta POV:<strong>

_Oh no._ I think as I look up at the wide-eyed expression on Katniss' face. I was hoping to get away before we found her, but now my plans of escape have gone out the window.

I look over at Cato, who has a devilish smirk on his face as he looks up at her.

He turns to Glimmer and says, "Try to shoot her."

Glimmer smiles and pulls back an arrow that she has and aims at Katniss then releases. It is way off the mark. I feel a little bit of relief that she is so bad at shooting. Cato grabs at the bow and tries. His shot is off as well.

Clove says, "Well, we can't hit her. So, we might as well lure her down."

I look up at Katniss and shake my head. I don't know what Clove has in mind but I know she can't fall for it. Clove turns to me, walks up behind me and puts her knife to my neck. I continue to look up at a very conflicted Katniss. I mouth to Katniss saying _'No'._

Clove says to Katniss, "You have ten seconds before you lose your boyfriend. 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1." The whole time Katniss stays planted on her branch.

Clove whispers into my ear, "See that Peeta. Your precious girlfriend doesn't love you enough to save you from death. You should just be with me. At least, we can have some fun before the end."

I decide to play into it, for both of our sakes. I drop my head with a fake look of disappointment. With my head down I move to sit at the base of a tree.

Clove looks at Katniss and says, "He has finally seen you for what you truly are Katniss. A fake bitch, who is only in this for herself, and has used his emotions to get sponsors."

Katniss looks at me with tears in her eyes. I look up at her, smile, and then shake my head. Realization crosses her face. _She understands my plan, _I think to myself.

I put my head back down before they realize our plan. Clove walks over to me kneels down, and kisses me. When she pulls away, she looks back at Katniss. While she kissed me I had the chance to sneak a small knife that she had in her jacket. I look up, and see a very angry Katniss. Clove moves away from me knowing her plan didn't work. While they are all getting together, I show off the small knife to Katniss. She smiles, as Marvel walks towards me. Clove, Cato, and Glimmer are in a group trying to figure out how to get Katniss down.

He crouches in front of me, while no one is looking he says, "I told you to say away from her."

I reply, "I didn't kiss her, she kissed me. I know that you saw that."

He says, "I don't care who kissed who. You don't touch her, ever."

"Well, its not like she wants you anyway." I say, before I think better of it.

A look of anger crosses his face. He stands and grabs his spear, and then he hits me over the head with it. I try to shake off the stars in my vision. He swings again with his spear and it catches my leg, cutting pretty deep. Before he has a chance to hit me again. Cato grabs him.

Cato says, "We have a plan to get Katniss, but we need him for it to work."

"What's the plan?"

"She comes out of the tree by morning, or we kill him."

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss POV:<strong>

It's a good thing that Cato stopped Marvel from hurting Peeta more, or else I would have turned and killed them all. I was already on the verge after Clove kissed Peeta, but I would not have had the self-control if Marvel hit him again. I look over Peeta, who is still on the ground from Marvel. He has a swollen shut eye, and bruises that I can see from high up here. I can't see the shape that he is in after Marvel hit him. I don't know how I know this, maybe it is a werewolf thing, but I can sense that Peeta is hurt badly by Marvel. Which fills me more with worry than anger.

The rest of the day, someone is constantly watching to see if I come down. The whole time, Peeta is trying to sneak looks, and silent '_I love you's_. Which is the only thing making this situation bearable. I figure that his plan has something to do with trying to sneak off while the others sleep. Eventually I see Rue in a nearby tree, watching everyone. She waves when she sees that I see her. I smile back. Night rolls in fast, and they decide that someone is to watch me during the night, and wake someone up later to change shifts.

Marvel takes the first shift. Everyone is asleep except for Peeta, Rue, Marvel, and me. I can see Peeta trying to work out of his bonds. So, I know that his plan is starting. He gets out, and slowly gets to his feet. He limps over behind Marvel, picking up a good size rock off the ground. He gets into position, and brings the rock down on his head. We both freeze to see if any of the others wake. I silently grab all of my things, and slowly make my way down the tree. When I get to the bottom, I move to take away the bow and quiver of arrows. Peeta grabs one of the bags and I put his arm around my shoulder. Rue meets us as we go to leave. We leave into the dark of night.

After walking for an hour, we find a small cave. We all walk in and Peeta passes out from blood loss. Rue and I work to try and clean the wound with water that we found nearby. My hands are shaking, and Rue stops me and tells me to go and try to calm down. I nod and leave the cave. When I get out, I try to get my nerves in control. I decide to work to try to get my mind off of Peeta. I look at the cave and decide to try to hide the entrance of the cave.

While I finish working on the entrance to the cave, I hear a beeping noise. I turn and find a parachute flying towards me. I move to catch it. When I do, I open the box attached to it. I find some things that we can use to stitch up Peeta's wound. I look at the note included with the supplies.

It says: _This will help, but won't stop infection. –H_

I hurry and go into the cave. When I get to Peeta, I find Rue trying to coax water into him. He turns to me and I hold up the box of supplies. I put it down near him.

Rue says looking into he box, "Yes! Finally something we can actually do. Have you stitched up before?"

"No."

"Okay, I have. But Peeta, this will be painful."

Peeta looks at her and nods his head. He looks back at me and holds his hand out to me. I grab it, and kneel next to him. The next half an hour is filled with pain and silent screams from Peeta.

Once she gets done, she says, "The cut was pretty deep. It is stitched up, but Peeta, you should take it easy. We don't want it to open up, especially in the arena."

Peeta says, "I don't think taking it easy is an option, but I'll try. Thanks Rue. I'm really happy you're here."

Rue blushes a little and replies, "You're welcome. I'm glad to have met you guys."

I say, "Peeta, why don't you lay down and try to sleep?"

He nods and lays his head on my lap. After a few minutes, he is asleep. I sit and run my fingers through his hair.

Then Rue asks, "Hey, Katniss. Can I ask you a question?"

I say, still looking down at Peeta, "Of course you can."

"What is it like being in love?"

I look up at her surprised. "What brought this on?"

"Well, I have been watching you for a few minutes. My parents have never really got along very well. I don't think I have ever heard them say that they love each other, but I have seen how you and Peeta are. I know for a fact that you guys are in love. I just wanted to know how it feels."

I sit and think for a minute. Then I say, "Love is different for everyone. For me, it is the greatest feeling in the world, but at the same time it can suck. When I was little, my parents loved each other very much. It was just one of those things that if you saw them together you knew that they were devoted to each other. I had always wanted that when I was young. But when my father died, I tried to stay away from love because of how my mom shut down. Sure, I have had those feelings for family, but you can't really stop those. Peeta was the only one throughout the years to give me those feelings. So, I would ignore him. But no matter what I did, he would always work his way back into my heart. I didn't love him at first but I liked him a lot. Then one day, I got into an accident, and Peeta was the one who found me and brought me home. When I woke up, I had an overwhelming feeling of love for him. It was like I ignored him for so long, that when he helped me, I stood no chance against him. Now, I don't think I can live without him. I told you that it could be great because it makes you feel like you can do anything if you have them by your side. When you're with them, you feel complete. I wake up every morning and think of him. If I happen to wake up to him, my day has no chance of being bad. At the same time love can also suck because you have that constant worry of something happening to him. I searched for a full day, wondering if he was okay. When I was in that tree and Peeta was being hurt. It was one of the worst feelings that I have ever felt, I felt powerless as he struggled. The worry is bad, but I would never give up my love for him. Now that I have experienced love, I think that everyone needs that feeling. If everyone did, then we wouldn't be in this situation right now."

Rue says, "Love sounds amazing."

"It is."

"I wish that I had a chance at love."

"You do have a chance, Rue." I say.

She looks down and says, "It's okay. I know that I don't have a chance at making it out of here."

I look at her shocked. She moves to lie down, facing away from me. I wish that I could tell her that everything will be okay, but I know that it would be a lie. I stare at her back while my eyes tear up. I put my head back up against the cave wall, trying to get my emotions in check. A few minutes later, I fall asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Peeta POV:<strong>

I wake in the morning and look up. I see the beautiful face of Katniss. I look harder and see dried streaks under her eyes from fallen tears. I hope that the tears aren't my fault. Pain flares up in my leg when I move to sit up. Katniss startles awake. She looks me over as I sit up and position my leg in a comfortable spot. I lean over and kiss her gently, but before the kissing can get deeper, Rue wakes up. We decide that I will stay in the cave and rest as Katniss goes hunting with Rue.

As they leave, I try to clean my wound. It doesn't look too bad, but I know that it will get worse. I stand once I finish wrapping it, and work my way out of the cave for some fresh air. I get outside and look around at the surrounding woods for a few minutes. I am about to move back into the cave when a voice comes over a loud speaker.

"Hello Tributes. The 74th Annual Hunger Games will have a one-time rule change. There can now be two victors, as long as they are from the same district. May the odds be ever in your favor."

I feel an overwhelming feeling of happiness. I think of Haymitch, and I know that this rule change is his doing. I hear branches breaking in the nearby woods. I turn just in time to see Katniss and Rue running towards me. We meet in the middle embracing each other and exchanging kisses. I pull back and see she has tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face.

Before I can move in for another kiss. I hear a soft spoken, "Katniss?"

I turn to find Rue, with Marvel standing behind her. I look down and she has a spear through her stomach. She falls to the ground, and Katniss shoots Marvel in the heart before he can take another step. He falls to the ground dead. Katniss and I move to Rue. She lies there, with tears in her eyes. Katniss grabs her head and holds it in her lap.

Katniss strokes her hair and says, "It's okay, Rue. It's okay."

Rue looks up at her and says, "No, it's not. Katniss, please promise me that you and Peeta are going to make it out."

Katniss starts sobbing and says as best as she can, "Of course we will. I promise."

Rue smiles and looks at me. Tears in my eyes, I give her a smile and nod my head. Rue looks back at Katniss, lips quivering, and then her face slowly goes blank.

Rue is dead.

**Next Chapter: The Games, Part 3.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to those of you who have favorite, reviewed, and followed this story. You guys are awesome. It fills me with excitement every time my email says someone started following, or reviewed. So I hope that everyone likes it so far. I also hope that everyone had a great holiday break. This chapter will be violent. You have been warned. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: The Games, Part 3.<strong>

**Katniss POV:**

I cried a lot throughout the rest of the day. Peeta even held me until I cried myself to sleep. I did not know Rue that much, but the things that I did know made me see her in a light that not many got to see. She was shy, but if she opened up; you would be able to see the kind, sweet, and innocent girl that she was. She is the reason why I feel so much anger towards the capital. She should not be dead. I know that Marvel killed her, but the leaders of Panem are really to blame.

The next day, I wake up in Peeta's arms underneath a beautiful tree near the water stream that was near the cave. I look up at Peeta. He seems to have fallen asleep as well. I know that both of us sleeping was not a smart thing in an open area like we are in. It will never happen again. Peeta's life means too much to me for any more lapses in judgment during these games. I don't want to be here anymore, I want to go home with Peeta.

The last thought that goes through my mind as I look up at him, _we are getting out of the games_. The announcer tells us that there is something that we need at the Cornucopia that we desperately need. I know that means antibiotics for Peeta's leg

A feeling of determination moves over me as I stand up. Peeta moves to stand as well, while I move to get the supplies.

Peeta asks, "What are you doing Katniss?"

I don't look at him as I start walking away, saying, "I'm ending this."

"And how are you ending this? Are you just going to kill everyone else?" he asks, trying his best to catch up with me.

"If I have to. You need the antibiotics too."

"I don't think that my leg is that bad."

I say, "Doesn't matter. This ends tonight. We can help your leg, the others will be there and we can kill them all. Two birds with one stone."

He catches up with me, grabs my arm, and spins me with a worried look on his face.

He asks, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course, why?"

"Rue did yesterday, and you killed someone as well. Have you even thought about it?"

"Yeah, of course I thought about it. But we are getting out of here. And I am not as affected by this as you are." I reply.

"And why aren't you?"

I look down, and move to whisper in his ear, "I think that it has to do with my wolf side. I was expecting to feel guilt after I killed a person for the first time, but I didn't. Instead, I felt nothing. I know that taking a life is bad, but I felt nothing. I think that I can take the others and get us out of here."

Peeta moves back, his face changes to frustration and anger.

He asks in a low voice, "You can't do this alone, and why are you just telling me this now?"

"I did not think you needed to know."

He gets angrier. Which is rare for him.

"And how is that supposed to make me feel?" he asks.

I shake my head not knowing.

"Well, it makes me angry, which you can probably tell." He takes a breath. "I'm not angry about why it didn't affect you like it would me. I completely understand with what happened at the time of his death. I am angry now that you have killed and figured out how it makes you feel, you think that you can just go and kill everyone else off by yourself. You killed yesterday in defense, which is a whole hell of a lot better than going out and looking for death." He says.

I reply turning away, "Well, you can just sit in the cave and wait for this to be over."

He goes silent for a minute. I turn back to look at him, and see the look on his face. He has a hurt expression that makes me wish that I could take back what I said. But before I can say anything else, he turns on his heels and heads back towards the cave.

I sit down for a few minutes and think about the conversation that we just had. I should have thought about how it would affect Peeta if I killed someone. I know that he cares for my sanity. Now that I think about it, it does kind of scare me that the wolf side of me doesn't mind killing.

I remember the first time that I ever killed anything. It was when I was younger. My dad before he died would take me out hunting with him. One day, after I worked to get good at archery, he pointed out a pheasant that was a good distance away. I was always in awe about how he found the animals to kill. Now I know that he always knew due to the werewolf that he was.

He talked me through with my aiming for the distance, and then when I was set for the shot he told me to release. When I let go of the arrow, it pierced the bird in the neck. The bird made a horrible sound after it got hit. I would have been happy about what a good shot I had made, but I wasn't. Instead, I started to cry. I felt horrible. I had just killed something, and the last thing it felt before death was pain. My dad calmed me down, and he told me; _"You did something that few people do, what few people could do. Yes, you took a life, but this life wasn't meaningless. Killing will never be a good thing unless there is a good reason for it. This bird gave its life for our family. But if you really think about it, it is just a bird. It isn't a person. There might be a time where you take a human life. And on that day, I hope that you are justified." _

My reason was justified. I had taken Marvel's life to save Peeta, and I would do it again. I feel bad for his family. But I don't feel bad for him.

My thoughts are interrupted with a big boom of the death cannon. It sounded near too. My mind jumps to Peeta. I get up and run for the cave.

* * *

><p><strong>Peeta POV:<strong>

When I found out about what Katniss could do, I kept an open mind. She told me about the positives, which I love. And she told me about the negatives. Out of all of the negative aspects of her being a werewolf, the thing I was most scared of was death. I am scared that someone would figure out and try to kill her. and I am scared of her giving into the killer instincts.

After she told me that she felt nothing from Marvel's death. The whole situation changed. I'm not scared of her; I'm scared of losing her. What if she enjoys it more the next time she kills?

I need to not think about it. So, I start to pick berries that I found on my way to the cave. After a few minutes I walk towards the stream to wash my sticky hands. I stand back up with wet hands and hear the boom of a cannon. I look into the direction that I heard it come from. I'm about to step forward, when I hear Katniss yelling my name. I run in her direction.

I try to run through the trees with my bad leg making it hard, when I stop dead in my tracks. On the ground a few feet from me, lies the red haired girl from district 5. I step towards the dead girl. Before I get there, I see Katniss blasting through the woods towards me. I rush over to her; she has tears in her eyes from relief. I hug her.

We sit there embracing for a moment, then she moves to whisper in my ear.

"I love you Peeta. From now on you need to stay near me. I can't live without you. You're the only thing that keeps me grounded from my wolf side. When I killed, I think that it was my wolf side trying to protect you. That might be why I felt nothing when I killed him. This morning might also have something to do with my wolf side, too. It was like I felt a burning feeling of trying to get you to safety, and my wolf decided that the only way to achieve safety was through the death of anyone that we came across. I'm sorry for the way that I have been acting."

"Its okay Katniss. I understand what your other half can do, and I also know how it feels about me. I only got upset because I figured that because you felt nothing this time, next time you might start enjoying it. And you lose yourself to the darkness that comes from killing. That has become my new fear. You leaving, because you found something that made you happier than I could have."

"Peeta, you make me happy. Nothing and no one could ever replace you."

The only thing that I can think of doing is to kiss her. So I do.

She pulls away and puts her head in the crook of my neck. I stroke her hair, and look down at the dead red head. She pulls away and looks at the fallen tribute as well.

"Did you do this?" she asks.

"No. But I think she might have been following me though."

"Why?"

"Because this was where I was picking some berries before I went to wash my hands in the stream."

She leans down and inspects the berries. She forms a horrified look on her face.

She looks up and yells, "Did you eat any?!"

"No. Why?"

"These are nightlock berries, Peeta. Eating a few of these would kill you."

I exhale slowly, "Well, that is a scary thought."

She nods and walks up to me. Katniss then smacks me hard in the chest.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being an idiot. Don't eat things that you don't know what they are." She says.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry and I didn't. I was trying to not think about, you know what. And decided to try to get some food for us."

She moves and stands over the girl. "Well, at least something good came out of this."

"What's that?"

"One less person 'til we can leave."

"Who is left?"

"I think; Cato, Thresh, and Clove. Other than us."

"What happened to Glimmer?"

"I don't know, but when we snuck away. I saw a giant tracker jacker nest in the tree above her. So, I wouldn't be surprised if she woke up and freaked out that we left and I stole her bow. Making the hive go after her."

"That makes sense. She didn't seem too smart. It took her like an hour to get a fire started the other night. Then when she was done, she found a box of matches in her bag. I almost bust out laughing at her, but stopped by biting my bonds."

She laughs, "Well, let's hope that the rest are idiots too."

I smile, "Can't make it too easy for us though."

She playfully smacks my arm.

We start to walk towards the cave. When we get within distance of the cave, we see that our hideout has a giant pile of rocks in front of it.

I say, "Well, I guess that the capital wants this to end, too."

She nods and we turn around and head towards the Cornucopia.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss POV:<strong>

When we get there, we find the clearing empty. All of the bags are gone. I think Peeta's leg is worse than he lets on, judging by how bad his limp has gotten. I am about to tell him to sit, when a loud yell comes out of nowhere on the other side of the clearing. We get low into the bushes and look out at the scene happening in front of us.

I see Thresh running towards Clove. Clove is throwing her knives and Thresh dodging them skillfully. He gets close and tackles her. He pins her and leans down saying something to her. She shakes her head and screams for Cato, who is just appearing from the other side as well. Before Cato can help her out, Thresh brings his axe down on her. A cannon goes off.

Thresh leans back with a smile, and gives a small laugh. Cato walks up behind him, and picks him up by his jacket. Thresh is surprised, but before he can do anything. Cato throws him about fifteen feet into the side of the large metal structure in the center of the clearing.

My mouth falls open. _There is no way he would be able to do that as a human._

He leans down and picks up Thresh by the throat. Cato brings him face to face, and says something to him. Thresh reaches to try to pry his hands off of his throat. Cato reaches up with his other hand and breaks one of his arms. Thresh yells out in pain. Cato throws him to the ground. He then moves Thresh to his knees. He gets behind him and puts his hands on his head. I look away just before Cato breaks Thresh's neck. Another cannon goes off.

I turn to Peeta, at the same time as he looks to me.

I say, "What is Cato?"

"I don't know. But it is just us and him."

"I know. I think that I have a plan."

I explain my plan, he agrees and we split up.

The whole time as I get into position, I think over the plan. I wish we would have thought this through, because I don't like the job I assigned to Peeta. It puts him in too much of a risk. If I'm not fast or silent enough, Peeta could die. I sneak behind the nearest tree behind Cato, and wait. I can see Peeta limping towards Cato, but Cato doesn't look up at him yet. Peeta gets close enough and stops.

Cato says while looking down at his sword, "Hello, Peeta. Did the girlfriend send you to kill me?"

Peeta says, "Something like that." And he brings up the spear that we took from Marvel.

Cato looks up and laughs, "Well, that was a mistake."

Peeta shrugs and says, "We'll see."

Cato stands and moves to a position where he has his back towards me. I slowly move towards him.

Cato says while moving a few feet away from Peeta, "Well, this plan won't work out like you think."

Peeta says, "And why is that?"

He says, "Because I can hear Katniss behind me."

I stop dead in my tracks.

_Oh no._

Peeta looks over Cato's shoulder towards me. As our eyes connect, Cato moves before Peeta can react. He smacks the spear out of his hand, grabs Peeta, and moves to put his arm around Peeta's neck. I pull up my bow and aim at his head.

Cato says, "Uh, uh, girl on fire. I have the boy that you love's life in my hands. What shall I do with it? How about this, you put down the bow and get on the ground, or I make you watch me snap his neck."

Peeta shakes his head. Cato laughs and knees him in the back. "Oh Peeta, so predictable. Katniss is too though. Let's watch her put down the bow."

I say, "Sorry Peeta." And move to put the bow down. But before I can put it on the ground, I hear a howl in the distance. I look to the woods to see a pack of weird looking dogs running towards us. I look back at Peeta and Cato. Cato is looking at the dogs, so I pull back on the bow and release. It hits Cato in the shoulder, releasing Peeta. Peeta turns around and punches Cato hard in the face. I grab Peeta's hand and move to get on top of the Cornucopia. He boosts me up, and once I get on top, I help him get up too. Once he is on, I look back at Cato, who is running inhumanly fast towards us, with an arrow poking out of his shoulder. He jumps high and grabs the top of the Cornucopia. As he starts to pull himself up with one arm, I kick at his face as hard as I can. It connects ands sends him flying towards the dogs.

He hits the ground on his back; he looks up at me with a broken nose and a knowing look on his face._ He knows that I'm more than human too. _

One of the dogs runs up and attacks him. Cato punches the dog, sending it flying. But before he can get up I send another arrow at him. It hits him in the neck. A shocked look appears on his face and he stops moving. The other dogs start attacking a startled Cato. He lets off a loud shout of pain. I think back to the first time I killed. My stomach drops.

A cannon goes off and the dogs retreat.

We hop off the metal object and move towards Cato's dead body. There are bite and claw marks all over him. Peeta turns him over so we don't have to keep looking at what remains of Cato.

I turn to Peeta and say; "I felt something this time Peeta."

He walks up and embraces me in a hug. He whispers, "I'm sorry, but it's over now."

A voice booms, "The previous rule change has receded. There can be only one victor."

We both tense up, and I let what was just said sink in. My eyes start to sting. I can't lose him, and I know that he can't lose me either. I see that Peeta is on the same train of thought as I am.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the nightlock berries. He gives me half and leaves half for himself. I look up into his eyes, which have tears as well.

I give him a kiss and say, "I love you, Peeta Mellark."

He says, "I love you too, Katniss Everdeen. But I have to do something first. Before we got in here I asked someone to get me something. I was going to give it to you if I was going to die, if not I was going to find a better time."

I ask, "What is it?"

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a beautiful wedding ring. I gasp and start to cry harder than before. He moves to his knee as best as he can, "I have known that I wanted to marry you for a long time." He moves my hand to his heart, "This heart in my chest beats only for you. Without you, it won't work. I already know that we are going to be together forever, but maybe now we can have a symbol of our love."

I nod because I don't think I can speak, and he puts the ring on my finger. I get on my knees as well, so he doesn't have to try and stand. We give each other one last kiss and start to move the berries to our mouths.

The announcer booms loud, "STOP!"

We stop and look at each other.

"Ladies and gentleman, the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games;

Katniss Everdeen, and Peeta Mellark. The capital would like to congratulate Mr. Mellark, and the Future Mrs. Mellark!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello. Sorry for the length between the chapters. My job is time consuming. I'll try harder to produce more chapters faster. I hope everyone likes this story so far. It is awesome to get feedback in any way available. That includes favorites, reviews, and follows. Even personal messaging has helped out. Now that the games are over I will be going back to one POV per chapter. It will go back in the next games… Surprise. There is a sexy scene in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 10:**

* * *

><p><strong>Peeta POV:<strong>

"Ladies and gentleman, the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games; Katniss Everdeen, and Peeta Mellark. The capital would like to congratulate Mr. Mellark, and the Future Mrs. Mellark!"

I look back at Katniss with relief on both of our faces. She pulls me in for a heated kiss. We pull back and embrace each other. I think; _I am the luckiest man in the world. I got out of the games with the love of my life. And now I am engaged to her._

The noise of a hovercraft appears above us. We look up as it descends toward us. It lands not too far away. The hatch opens, and we head towards it.

The whole walk towards it, I have my arms around Katniss in a protective embrace. I look around one last time as we near the craft. I look down at Katniss and she gives me a smile. We step into the hatch.

I look around at a small room full of Peace Keepers. They step toward us.

"Hey, hey, hey. What's going on?" I say.

One of the Peace Keepers says, "Peeta Mellark needs to come with us."

Katniss holds onto me harder and says, "I'm going wherever he goes."

Two Peace Keepers grab me by my arms and start to lead me away, as one tells Katniss, "No, you will stay here for the ride back to the Capital."

She starts to struggle trying to get to me. A few guards grab her to contain her. She is too strong for them. But before I can tell Katniss to stop, a guard walks up behind her and jabs her with a needle. She slows down and falls over. I start to struggle to get back to her. More grab a hold of me to take me away.

I yell at them, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"

They take me into another room, and the door slams behind us. The last thing I see as I struggle is the butt of a gun being slammed into my face.

* * *

><p>I wake up on a hard surface. I open my eyes, trying to adjust to the light. When they do I look around. I become aware of another presence near me. I look to find Haymitch sleeping on a chair. I groan as I try to sit up. Haymitch wakes up to my struggling. He gets up and rushes to my side.<p>

I say, "Where is Katniss? Is she alright?"

"Yeah she is fine. They just tried to subdue her in the craft to make your extraction easier."

"Why me?"

"Because Peeta. You are the one who had the idea to defy the Capital. It was your proposal that caused a riot in the capital to let you both out alive. You tied their hands together. They don't take that kindly. So they decided to punish you both. But they can't physically hurt you guys or your families due to how people would react. So they did something else."

"What?"

"Well technically, it was something physical. Peeta? How does your leg feel?"

I move my hand to the leg that was cut in the games. Instead of flesh my hand comes in contact with metal. _They cut off my leg!_ My breath quickens as I try to come to terms about my missing leg.

He puts his hands on my shoulders and says, "Calm down."

"Why my leg?" I struggle to get out of his grasp.

"Because your leg had a small infection from that cut. They cut it off saying the infection was worse than it was. It was their small way of punishing you. Katniss doesn't know yet, but when she does figure it out, it will hurt her just as much, if not more. They thought this though very well. I'm sorry."

I move to dangle my legs off of the hard observation table. I look down at my leg. It seems that they cut it off just above where my cut was. I move to stand and feel pain. The end of my leg burns. Haymitch grabs me before I fall.

"Take it easy Peeta. They will be having an interview with both you and Katniss. They want to show her reaction to your leg on live TV."

I sit back down and nod. Tears start welling up in my eyes as I think about the hurt that this will cause her. Haymitch soon leaves and I am left alone for a few hours. My stylist team arrives to help get me ready for the interviews.

Now I stand on my leg that was numbed to help with my journey onto the stage.

Caesar Flickerman calls us up and I ascend the stairs. The crowd burst in cheers for us. Instead of looking at the crowd, I look to the other side of the stage and to my fiancée. She breaks out into a run towards me and nearly tackles me. I hiss because the numbing agent is starting to wear off and I feel a little bit of pain. I know that she heard me. She leads to the chair and asks over the crowd if I'm all right.

Before I can respond, Caesar says, "Everyone, the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, and might I add the best games yet." Which gets another cheer from the crowd.

"I think we all want to know. What was going through your minds as you pulled out the berries?" He asks.

Katniss replies, "I was thinking that if I couldn't live with him not being there, then I wasn't going to live without him. I love him too much to be apart from him." The crowd awes in reaction.

I smile and say, "The same thought were going through my mind. I need her to survive."

Caesar laughs and says, "Well aren't you two just the cutest couple ever. And I want to personally congratulate you both on your engagement." The crowd cheers again.

I say, "Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for the wedding."

Caesar agrees then asks, "Peeta, how is the leg?"

I sigh heavily, and look at Katniss, who has a confused look on her face, "Not too good."

He then asks, "Do you mind showing us?"

I bend down and grab the bottom of my pant leg and pull it up. Knowing that if I don't play along, they might do something bad. The crowd gasps as they look at the metal of my fake leg. I look back at Katniss, who is stunned. Her emotion turns to sadness as she looks back to me. She bursts out crying as she pulls me in for a hug.

She whispers while crying, "I'm sorry, this is my fault."

I whisper back, "This is not your fault. Don't you dare feel like that. This was my fault."

She cries harder and I look up at the Presidential balcony. President Snow has a smile on his face, and I know that this was the reaction that he wanted.

For the rest of the interview the questions are directed at me. Katniss is still crying as the interview concludes. The whole time she never lets me go.

Once the interview is done, President Snow makes his way down to the stage to give us our crowns.

He puts my crown on and says, "I hope that you understand how we work in the capital. And also understand the consequences of your actions."

Anger burns in me as I nod back to him.

"I'm sure you do. And I hope that you know that your punishment could have been a lot worse. Who knows, it still might be."

He then moves to Katniss. He puts her crown on and says something to her. Katniss has a look of horror as Snow leaves.

As I head towards her, I ask her what he said.

She says, "President Snow knows about my secret."

I try to comfort her as we leave the stage and head back to the train.

We converse with Effie and Haymitch for the rest of the night. He tells us that due to our fame, Snow can't touch us. It gives us some relief and we talk about why my leg is now gone. That seems to impact Katniss more than Snow knowing about her being a werewolf.

We arrive back to a room on the train that we shared on the way to the Capital. I collapse on the bed. After a minute, I look at Katniss who is still near the door. She is staring at me.

"Hey Katniss, is everything alright?"

Instead of answering, she walks towards me. I lay on my back as she moves to take my pants off. I sit up and look at Katniss. She has a blank look on her face as she looks down at my leg.

"Does it hurt?" she asks.

"It hurt a lot at first. But with the medication they gave me, it helps."

She moves to take the leg off. I let her. She looks down at the inflamed skin on the end of my leg. She slowly puts her had down on it. I lay back and put my arm over my eyes.

She asks worriedly, "Did I hurt you?"

"No, it's just. I know that this changes things between us. I know that my leg is ugly. I love you, so I'll try my best to not let you see it if you don't want to."

She takes her hand off my leg and moves up towards me.

"Oh, Peeta. This doesn't change anything. You will always be the love of my life. Leg be damned."

I look at her, and see the look in her eyes. I know that she meant the words that she said.

She leans in to kiss me. I return it as best as I can. She moves to take off my shirt. I let her. She runs her hands over my chest, which sends waves of pleasure through me. I stiffen as she runs her hands down to my boxers. She pulls them off and throws them away. She smiles as she leans down and takes me in her mouth. My head falls back as pleasure takes over my mind. I groan as she adds her hand in. As the pressure builds, so does her pace.

Before I can lose myself, I say, "Katniss… Stop. I'll lose it."

She lets me fall from her mouth with a pop. And works her way up my body. She pulls off her clothes as I grab a condom. I slip it on as she finishes. I hurry and pin her to the bed. I kiss down her body. I get to her clit and take it into my mouth. She gasps as I lick her.

After a few minutes, I work her into a frenzy. She says between breaths, "I… need you… inside of me."

I push my fingers into her as I move to kiss her lips. She moans again. I pull my fingers away and push into her, going as far as I can. She yells, "PEETA!"

I slowly pull out and push in harder. I start to quicken my thrusts. My pleasure builds as she struggles to keep up with me. She says, "I'm gonna co…" I cut her off saying, "me too."

She gives off one last shriek of pleasure as she orgasms. Her quivering walls bring forth my orgasm as well. I give one final thrust as I fall to her side exhausted. She pulls off the condom. She puts in the garbage as I pull her back to me.

"I love you, Katniss Everdeen."

"I love you too."

We fall asleep.

* * *

><p>The rest of the trip back to District 12 goes by faster than the journey to the Capital. We pull in and get off to the cheers of District 12. She is happy and relieved that her family and friends are safe.<p>

We are brought to our new houses in the Victor's village. Katniss' family is brought to the house that was meant for Katniss. My family decided to stay in the bakery, so that Katniss can move in with me.

We walk into the house and I turn to her and say, "Well come home."

She smiles at me and kisses me. We spend the rest of the day in bed, loving each other.

* * *

><p>A few weeks later, Effie and Haymitch show up panicked.<p>

Effie says, "The Capital is planning your wedding. They will be here soon, and they are going to air it for all of Panem. President Snow himself will be in attendance."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello. Thanks again to those who support this story and me. It feels great every time I see that someone reviewed, followed, and or favorites this story. The continued support keeps me going. I haven't mentioned this about the story yet, but in this story I picture Effie as wearing makeup, but nothing like how she does in the movies or books. I picture colorful eye shadow, and bright lipstick. Not crazy colored hair or eyebrows. She wears nice clothes but not crazy looking. That is the only way I can see Haymitch falling for her. Sorry if this offends you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 11:**

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss POV:<strong>

Today is my wedding day. I woke up early to get ready for Cinna and his crew. They got me ready, and now, here I stand waiting to walk towards my almost husband. I am in a white dress that Cinna has made that fits me perfectly, and also suits me.

I asked Haymitch to give me away. He has been great in helping figure out my wolf side. He has helped Peeta in understanding what can sometimes go through the minds of those who lose themselves to the darker side of being a werewolf. Not only has he been a big help with me being a werewolf, he has helped us figure out a plan on dealing with President Snow.

Effie has also been really great in connecting with Peeta. They both are in love with werewolves. So she has developed some techniques in helping others handle stress. Those techniques have helped calm Haymitch down a lot over the years. I don't know about all of the other things that she has told him, but I know that it is helping him deal with our situation. It gives me comfort to know that if I'm on the brink of turning, he will be able to bring me back.

A week after we got back from the games, my mom confessed that my dad was a werewolf. Even though I knew before, I am glad that she told me. We have had some trouble connecting since my father passed away. She and Prim are now apart of our little werewolf group, and we have been getting along great. Prim took the news that I was a werewolf very well. She jumped right in with helping us develop a good plan. There is only one person that I haven't worked up the courage to tell, Gale. Even though I have had plenty of times to tell him, I don't know how he will react. He might help, but there is always the possibility that he will end up hating me.

The wedding starts and the Capital picked flower girl starts her journey down the aisle. I am currently waiting for my cue to walk, and there is a giant camera in my face. The Capital is really trying to milk as much out of my wedding as they can.

We are given our cue to walk. Everyone stands and looks at me as I appear. I have never been one for attention, so I feel a little self-conscious. I look over the massive crowd of family, friends, and the most famous people in Panem. I am still a little angry that the Capital thinks that they can just invite whomever they want.

But all that goes out the window as my eyes connect with Peeta's. He has a big goofy smile on his face, which brings one to mine. Even from this distance I can see the tears in his eyes. As we get near him, I can feel some tears rising in my own as well.

Haymitch gives me away, and the wedding goes off without a hitch. When we kissed the cheer was almost deafening. Peeta is now my husband.

* * *

><p>At my wedding dinner, I begin to look at the smaller crowd that is in attendance. I see Prim talking with her friends. I turn to see that Effie and my Mom are deep in conversation. They have become good friends. Peeta is off talking with a group of people from the Capital. I am just about to head back to my seat when I catch a peek of Gale talking to a girl. I can't see her face, but I feel an overwhelming feeling of familiarity with her. I can't tell who she is from the back so I move to see who it is. Cinna walks up to me right as soon as I get in position for a better angle.<p>

"Hey, Katniss. What are you doing?" He asks.

"I'm trying to figure out who that girl is." I reply.

"What girl?"

"The one talking to Gale."

"Why?"

"I feel like I know her from somewhere but I can't quite place it."

He chuckles, and says, "That is Johanna Mason. She is a victor of a games a few years ago. Perhaps that is where you know her from."

"Oh, yeah. She was the one with the axe."

"Well. I was just coming over to say goodbye. Portia and I have to return to the Capital to work on the outfits for your victory tour. I will see you in two weeks."

"Yeah, see you."

We hug and he kisses my cheek. Portia waves as they walk away. I look back to where Gale and Johanna were. Gale seems to have walked away. But Johanna is walking right for me. I don't move as she nears.

She gives me a sly smile and crosses her arms, "Hello, Katniss. Great wedding."

I feel an unfamiliar feeling wash over me as she talks.

"Thank you very much. I'm glad you could come." I say back as polite as I can.

She laughs sarcastically, "Yeah, it's not like the Capital forced me to come or anything."

I don't know if that statement is directed towards the Capital, or me, so I don't think about it hard.

"Well I hope that you have found that this trip might have been worth it."

"Oh, it has."

"Yeah? How so?"

She turns to the direction that Gale walked and says, "I have met some interesting people. Your friend Gale included." Then she says while turning back to me, "I also finally got to meet you."

I feel confused, "Did you want to meet me?"

"Oh, of course. As soon as we all figured out about the hunter from District 12, I have wanted to figure you out better. It seems that we have a lot in common. I mean look around this room, try to find anyone that shares any interests with you other than Peeta, Gale and I."

I look around the room. I have to admit, she is right about not having a lot of people around me that are similar to me and my interests.

"Girls like us have to stick together. After all, it's always better to have a pack."

Before I can find the meaning behind that last statement, she turns as walks back towards Gale. I stand there thinking over if that was just a metaphor or not.

I feel a presence arrive behind me.

I turn to see President Snow himself.

He smiles, and says, "I hope that you have found your wedding day to be a pleasant one."

I blink and collect myself with the sudden appearance of the holder of many of my main problems in life.

I nod in thanks.

"Well, I'm glad. Come walk with me for a moment." He offers me his arm, which I reluctantly take. He leads me out the doors of the room our dinner is being held in. We walk through the halls of the Justice building for District 12. After a minute of winding through the large building, we arrive at a small room. I enter first, and immediately regret it when he locks the door behind himself.

I turn around quickly, expecting him to attack me in some way. But he doesn't. He just stands there, as if he is fully aware of the thoughts running through my head.

"Now Mrs. Mellark. I am not here to harm you… at least for the moment. I have taken you here to tell you that you and Peeta have caused a lot of issues with that little stunt that you pulled."

I ask wearily, "What issues?"

He sighs and says, "There have been riots in some of the districts. They feel that since we allowed two victors, then this is the perfect time for a revolution. They think that because you took the initiative to try and take control of your future, they can do the same."

He then takes a bottle out of his jacket pocket and sets it on the table in front of him.

"Do you know what this is?"

I look at the small unfamiliar bottle and shake my head.

"Well, this rare liquid is very hard to come by. That is unless you know how to get it. It is a solution that derived from a plant called Wolfs bane. This small bottle could kill you within a minute of you swallowing it. I have used this on others of your kind before. And from my point of few, that last minute of your life is filled with pain and agony. You don't have to worry about others having this drug. I am the only person who has access to this substance."

I take a few steps back in horror.

"As I said before, you aren't in danger at this moment. But I will give you this warning, if you don't try to contain this spark that you have given the districts. I might take it out on you, your family, or even your newly acquired husband. Either way…you might not like the outcome."

He picks up the bottle and moves to the door.

"I'll see you at the end of your victory tour, Mrs. Mellark." Then he walks out the door.

I stand there staring at the spot of where the Wolfs bane was. I know that if I don't head back down, someone might think something is wrong. So I slowly make my way back to the party.

I arrive in the room and am startled from my thoughts when I feel arms wrap around my waist. I turn to see my new husband. He gives me a kiss, which I eagerly return. The rest of the night goes by in a blur. I decide that I will tell him about my meeting with Snow tomorrow. He will not dictate my happiness.

* * *

><p>I awaken two weeks later in the bed that I share with Peeta. He is still asleep as I get out of bed and head to get ready for the day.<p>

Today is the first day of the victory tour. We will be leaving for the train soon. Once on the train, our first stop is District 11. Which was the home of the sweet girl who has haunted my dreams since the games. I can handle the dreams that feature Rue pretty well. I can even handle the dreams about Cato. But it is really hard when any dream ends with Peeta's death. I know that it isn't healthy to dwell in 'what if's', but I can't seem to stop it when the question is; _what if Peeta died in the games?_ I have woken up screaming his name in the middle of the night due to that question. Peeta has woken each time to help me get myself under control each and every time.

Peeta's nightmares are different from mine. Where mine are loud and can be easily seen by him, his are quiet. If I start screaming, Peeta wakes up and brings me away from the dream. Peeta doesn't scream, so when he has bad dreams. I can't help him by bringing him back to reality. A good majority of the times that I have comforted him is when I happen to wake and find him silently crying on his side of the bed. I want to comfort him like he does me, but he refuses to wake me up for help. And it frustrates the hell out of me. I don't ever want him to suffer alone when I am there to take care of him.

I finish getting ready as Peeta wakes. He has the tell tale signs of a recent nightmare written on his face. I sit and envelope him in a comforting hug. He has a few tears that he tries to discretely wipe away.

I sign heavily, "Peeta, why won't you ever let me help you?"

He replies in a shaky voice, "Because you have enough to deal with, you don't need my issues as well."

"Peeta." I say with a tone of authority.

He drops eye contact. I grab him by the cheeks and make him look me in the eye.

"I am your wife. Any problems that you have, now becomes a shared problem that we both have. You got that?"

"Yeah." He says reluctantly.

"Okay, from now on if you ever wake from a bad dream. You wake me up. I only want to help you like the way that you do for me."

I bring him in for a kiss. I pull back and lay my head on his shoulder. We sit like that for a few minutes, just sitting in the comfort of each other's arms.

Eventually we get up and finish getting prepared for our journey through Panem. We meet Haymitch and Effie at the train. My mother and sister are also there to see us off. We say goodbye and get onto the train.

On the train I decide that I need to tell Haymitch and Effie about Snows threats, at this point I have only told Peeta. After all, their lives might be in danger as well.

We sit and I blurt out, "I have something I need to tell you guys."

Haymitch laughs, "Ahh, Katniss. Have I ever told you that you are as blunt as a rock?"

I glare at him, and say, "Haymitch, this is serious."

He looks at me, and I visually see his body language change.

"What is this about?" Effie asks.

"President Snow."

Effie gets a startled look on her face and she looks at Haymitch. He stands and moves to the drink cart.

Haymitch says, "Well, I think I might need a drink before this starts."

He gets done pouring his drink and returns to his seat next to Effie. He grabs her hand and nods for me to continue.

"On the night of my wedding, Snow took me to a small room and told me about the riots in the districts. He told me that it is our job that we have to contain the people for the Capital."

Haymitch chuckles, "Of course he does."

I sigh and say, "Well, that is not even the worst part. He took out a small bottle that I had never seen before and asked if I knew what it was. I said no, and he told me. He said that it is a liquid that is made from a plant known as Wolfs bane."

Haymitch spits the alcohol out of his mouth, and yells, "SHIT!"

Effie is startled by Haymitch's reaction, so she asks, "Haymitch, honey. What is Wolfs bane?"

Haymitch stands up, puts his hands in his hair, and starts pacing.

"Well, it is the only weakness to werewolves. It has the capability of killing even the strongest of us." Effie gasps, "It is a rare plant, but the less people that know about it the better. Just knowing that Snow has knowledge of it is very, very bad. Who knows what he will do with it?"

I continue saying, "He told me that he is one of the only people with access to it. He even threatened me with it. He threatened to kill Peeta."

Peeta says, "I'm more worried about you Katniss."

Effie asks, "How exactly does it kill you?"

I say, "He told me that the bottle would kill me in a minute. And that it would be the worst minutes of my life. It would be filled with a lot of pain."

Effie stands and makes her way from the room.

Haymitch says, "I'm gonna go talk with her alone."

I nod.

He leaves.

I stand and make my way over to Peeta. I sit on his lap, and we stare out the window at the scenery that is rushing past us. It is kind of calming, but the calm leaves my body as the scene changes to the open fields of District 11.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello again. I hope that everyone has enjoyed how this story is developing so far. I know that the wait for each chapter is a little long. Some time in the next few weeks, I plan on being able to push more chapters out at a faster rate. I would like to thank everyone who has favorite, reviewed, or followed this story. I would have stopped writing a long time ago if it wasn't for the constant support. I enjoy writing because you guys enjoy the things that I write.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 12:**

**Peeta POV:**

Katniss sits up as the fields of District 11 come into view. The land here is well kept due to all the workers. As District 12 is known as the mining district, District 11 is the agricultural district. The scenery is one of the most beautiful in Panem. But even though the land is in great condition, the people are treated just as bad here as they are in twelve. If anyone is caught stealing or eating the crops, they will be publicly whipped or even killed. That is one of the more amazing things about Rue. That even though she came from a cruel district, she was still one of the sweetest girls that I have ever met. It makes visiting here harder knowing that Rue used to live here, and that we could not save her. I know that this day will be tough on Katniss, and that I will be there to support her.

The train starts to slow as we arrive at the station, and our team prepares to embark on the first stop of the victory tour.

Leaving the train was not hard. There was hardly anyone there to receive us. They are all gathered at the Justice Building waiting for Katniss and I. We are brought on stage in front of the people of District 11. There was a small amount of clapping as we walk to the microphone.

I stop short waiting to see if Katniss wants to start talking first or if she wants me to start. She looks at me and I can tell that she wants me to start. So, I move to the microphone and begin my speech.

"Hello. I'm Peeta Mellark, and this is my new wife Katniss. It is very hard for us to talk about what happened in the games, as you can imagine. So, instead of the experiences of the games, I'm going to talk about your tributes. I'll start with Thresh." I look to Thresh's family on the opposite side of the crowd. "I did not know him very well, but what I did know was that he was a very strong guy. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. He was smart, and knew how to survive. More than I did. But the thing that stood out to me most about him was that he was loyal. During training, I would constantly see him working with Rue. I know that if it came down to him and her in the end, he would have given up just like Katniss and I tried. But while we tried out of love, he would have done it out of duty. I hope that all of you know that you should be proud of him. He truly was a great man."

As I finish talking about Thresh, I see that his family is all crying. Thresh's mom mouths a thank you to me. I nod back and turn to Rue's family. "Rue is a lot harder to talk about for both of us. From the beginning, I could tell that Rue did not deserve what she got. She was sweet, kind hearted, brave, and a great friend. She not only helped save me, but also Katniss too. In the short time that I knew her, she helped me in ways that only Katniss and I will be able to understand. I know that she means a lot to you, but she means a lot to us too." I step back to allow Katniss to speak.

She steps up with tears in her eyes and starts. "I agree with everything that Peeta just said. I only was ever in Thresh's presence a hand full of times, and each time I could tell that he had a powerful presence. He was quiet but well spoken. Everything he did was well thought out. And I am sure that if the circumstances were different, we would have been good friends. Rue was similar but at the same time very different. She was quiet like Thresh, but while Thresh thought of ways to power through a situation. She found a way around it. In training: if anyone walked up to Thresh to intimidate him, he would end up intimidating him or her instead. While if Rue was in the same situation, she would have out thought the person. Peeta and I wish to honor them for the great people that they were. So, in the future, we wish to name our children after them."

Katniss steps back towards me. I put my arms around her. I know that all of the things we both said might make the situation with the Capital worse, but we owe Rue more than that.

Still after about ten seconds, the crowd is completely silent. We turn to leave, when we hear the whistle that we once heard Rue use. We turn back to the crowd as everyone raises their arms, and gives us a gesture of respect.

It seems that the Peace Keepers have figured out who whistled. They are pushing through the crowd as they make their way to an older gentleman. They grab his arms and start hauling him to the stage. I try to grab Katniss, but she moves too quickly for me. She is trying to stop any harm that will come to this man. The guards grab her and start to pull her back to the building.

As we get brought into the building, we see the guards pushing the man to his knees. The door shuts as the gun goes off. Katniss bursts into tears. I grab her and start pulling her to the nearby stairs. Haymitch and Effie are hot on our heels as we make it to a room that I assume is in a remote part of the building.

I stand there holding on to her as she keeps repeating, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

All I can do is tell her, "I know."

Eventually Katniss starts to calm down, Haymitch says, "Snow will not like what happened today. So, the plan for the rest of the trip is for you guys to read from a script that Effie has written as a back up for if this sort of thing happened. The Capital will try hard to not let the rest of the country know what happened today. If this continues throughout the rest of the tour, we will be in a LARGE amount of trouble. You got that?"

We both nod our head. Haymitch sighs and tells us that we have to head back to the train.

On the way back to the train, we can hear yelling from the front of the Justice Building and every now and then a single shot. I just hope that the shots are warning shots.

* * *

><p>The rest of the stops on the trips were hard. We could tell that throughout the districts, there were a lot of people looking for signs that we supported a revolution. We tried our hardest to give off a neutral image; but we were sure that there were people who saw through our act.<p>

Now our little group is sitting at the steps to the Presidential Palace. The party starts and the fireworks go off. We all look to the President, whom is looking back. He has a blank expression on his face as he shakes his head. We all know that our plan did not work.

I turn to Katniss and say, "Don't worry Katniss. There is no way that he can hurt us without the country knowing. We would become the martyrs that would start the revolution. He knows it just as well as we do. As of right now, we are not in any danger from him."

She nods, but I know that she is still worried about all of the consequences of our actions. We move inside the palace as the fireworks show ends. We eat and dance for the next two hours. There is a break in routine as a strange man walks over to our table. It is just Katniss and I, so I know that what ever he wants to say, he has found a good opportunity.

"Hello, my name is Plutarch Heavensbee. I am the new Head Game Maker." The man says.

"Hello, I assume you know who we are." I say.

He laughs and says, "Yes I do, who doesn't. You guys are all anyone can talk about now a days."

Katniss asks, "Sorry to interrupt, but what happened to the last guy?"

Plutarch looks at her and says, "Well, since he allowed you both to live. He decided that it would be best if he stopped breathing."

I feel a little guilty with causing his death. I don't really know how to reply to that so I just stay silent, as does Katniss.

He says, "Well, it has been a real delight meeting you both. I just wanted to let you know that big things are coming."

He then turns to leave.

As he walks away, I ponder his words. I don't know what big things are coming, but I have a feeling that they aren't good. I hold Katniss' hand a little tighter at the thought. Whatever is coming, I will be able to deal with it as long as she is by my side.

Haymitch walks back to us, "I see that you have met Plutarch. Don't worry too much about him. I have reason to believe that he is on your side."

"Have you met him before?" I ask.

"Yes. But at the time he was just beginning as a Game Maker. I don't know why he does it, but I think that he is working on the inside for someone else."

"Who?"

"That I am not sure of. I don't think we have to wait very long to find out though."

We all look off towards where the man in question walked. I see him ascending a staircase, he turns as he gets to the top and looks back towards us. His eyes connect with Haymitch's. He gives Haymitch a smile and a nod, and then walks away.

The rest of that night went by quickly. We met a lot more people, including other tributes. Most of them seemed nice, and there were those who were from the career districts that seemed fake about how they acted. They probably did not like that we stole their fame.

* * *

><p>I head back to our house from the bakery. We arrived back to District 12 late last night. I wanted to talk to my family about the trip. Of course, my mother did not want anything to do with me. But my brother and father seemed like they enjoyed talking to me.<p>

I step back up the stairs that lead to my house. As I open the door, I can hear a growl coming from the kitchen. I hurry to see what the noise was. I see Katniss at the table, breathing hard.

I say, "Hey, Kat? What's wrong?"

She growls out. "I wanted to make you a nice dinner tonight, but I accidentally burned it."

I stop for a second, "Oh. What were you making?"

"Bread, and soup."

I chuckle a little. "Well, I appreciate the thought."

"You are always the one to make the food, every breakfast, lunch, and dinner is made by you. I just wanted you to have a day off of trying to care for me."

I wrap her up in my arms, "Thank you, but I make the food because it helps me take my mind off of all the things we have to deal with. Yes, I want to take care of you, but I do it for me just as much as for you. From now on, don't worry about the food. I'll take care of it. We don't want you to go all werewolf over a piece of bread."

This gets a small laugh out of her. "Thanks Peeta. I think that I would have lost my mind without you.'

"That's alright. I think that you just need to find something that can both calm and take your mind off of everything."

She leans back, "I do have something, but I haven't been able to do it very much recently. I hunt, but we don't need all of the meat anymore. And we have enough money, so we don't need to trade either. Also every time I go out to the woods I get a feeling that someone is watching me. So I can't even get the silence and piece of mind that the woods can bring me. I sometimes can tell that it is a camera or something from the Capital. But every now and then it feels like a presence. Like someone is lurking in the shadows watching me. I have tried to catch it in the act, but I always just barely missing it. I think that it is the thing that bit me."

"When did this start?"

"A little bit after our wedding. I haven't told you because I did not want you to worry. If it wanted to hurt me, it would have done it a long time ago."

"Do you have any idea who it is?"

"No, and it frustrates me more and more each time. I have only really seen it once, and that was when I was bitten. I talked to Haymitch about it. He says that when you see someone as a werewolf, they might not even look the same as when they are human. So I should not worry about what it looked like, but how it acts. Since it doesn't attack, whoever it is seems to have great control. He has only met a few werewolves, and that none of them have that level of control. He barely has that much control, and that is only when he is in the presence of Effie. She anchors him as much as you anchor me. I haven't tried hard to turn, but I know that it would be easier with you near. Also, they have the control not to attack Gale either. He has been with me when I have felt them near. He hasn't even noticed, and he has great senses!"

"Hmm. That seems weird. I guess that the best you can do is wait. If this thing wants to let you know who it is, then it will let you know."

I walk up to the burned bread. "Well, I guess that I will just have to make a new loaf. Don't worry about it. Just go relax, and I'll let you know when dinner is ready."

She sighs, "Okay. I'm going to my Mom's house. I want to see what she has to say about the one who bit me."

I give her a nod and kiss her goodbye.

As I start working on dinner, I think of that just being one of the many problems that lie before us.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed, favorite, and followed this story. It feels great to know that you guys are enjoying the story so far. I still have been a little bit busy lately, so it is a little hard to find the time to write. Sorry. Tell me how you guys like it so far. I haven't gotten many reviews for the past couple of chapters. If you guys even wanted to tell me what I need to work on that would be great. After all this is still my first fan fiction. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 13:**

**Katniss POV:**

I'm walking along in the woods with Gale. We have been hunting for the past few hours. Today is the day that they are going to announce the 75th Hunger Games. I woke up this morning with a bad feeling. I have been on edge ever since. So I went hunting with Gale to get my mind off of it. Peeta decided to stay home and paint.

"Hey Katniss, what is District 7 like?" Gale asks randomly.

I turn back to look at him, "What?"

"You know, District 7. I know that it is the District that deals with lumber and that sort of thing. But is it nice at all?"

"Well, I have only been there once, and it was very brief. It is definitely a lot nicer than District 12. Why?"

"I kind of met someone from there, and I can't get them out of my mind lately."

"Who did you meet?" I ask.

He takes a breath, "Johanna Mason."

I exclaim, "The victor?!"

"Yeah." He replies.

"Oh." I say, "Well, how did you guys meet?"

"I was just sitting at a table at your wedding when she approached me. I knew who she was, but I didn't act different than with anyone else. I know that she is famous for being a scary killer from the games, but I don't see her that way. She told me that she has a hard time meeting men because she intimidates them. I told her that she doesn't intimidate me. Actually I think that she is one of the only people out there that understands people like you and me. Did you talk to her at all?"

"Yeah, I did a little. She said a couple of things about us being alike as well. What else did you guys talk about?"

"Well, we ended up talking for the rest of the night about a lot of stuff, and then after we made out a little. Katniss, I think that she could be the one."

My eyes widen at that. I'm happy that he has found someone else, so he doesn't have to be waiting for a girl that loves someone else. But I have to say that I am a little surprised with him moving on to someone else so fast.

"I'm happy for you Gale, but doesn't the fact that you live in separate districts sort of cause an issue?"

"Yeah. We talked about that as well. She said that being a victor, she could get us a few visits every now and then. She also said that if that doesn't work she knows a way for me to go into her district basically undetected. Those are options B and C."

"What's option A?"

"The revolution."

It takes a second for my mind to catch up with his words, when they do I stand there and stare at him speechless.

After a few seconds he starts talking again. "She told me that there is talk of a revolution against the Capital. She doesn't know when or where yet, but when it happens she is coming for me and my family. The only place that we will be able to go is District 13."

"What do you mean District 13, it got blown up?" I ask.

"It did, but they survived it and they have built everything underground. They have been causing trouble for the Capital for years. With what Peeta and you did in the games, apparently they think that the time to attack is very soon. I don't know why exactly but Johanna knows that they want all of the Victors that they can get on their side, especially you guys."

"Who else knows about this?"

"Apparently there are a few who are in each district that have been in contact with Thirteen. Johanna and a few other victors know in Seven. She told me that Haymitch and Effie are the contacts for Twelve."

My anger starts to swell with that last sentence. How could they know but not tell us? I thought that they were my friends. I tell them everything about me, and here they are not returning the favor. I probably would have been able to control my anger better, but with the stress of today I can't keep my anger from growing. I put my hands in my hair as my anger continues to grow.

"Katniss are you alright?" Gale asks carefully.

"No, I am not! They knew! I looked up to them, and the whole time they have been keeping secrets from me." I am so mad that I soon start to feel my teeth turn into fangs. I know that my eyes are glowing. I can feel my strength growing as well, which is something that I did not know could happen. I pick up a fairly large rock that is bigger than my body, and I throw it at a tree. It snaps the tree in half.

"Shit! What was that Katniss? What is happening?" Gale steps back freaked out.

I start growling. I know that the only way for me to be able to calm down now is for Peeta to talk me down.

I growl out in a deep scary voice, "Go and get Peeta, now."

Gale is sitting there staring at me scared I'm sure.

"NOW!" I yell out.

He jumps to his feet faster than I have ever seen him do. The last thing I see of him is him sprinting back to the District.

The only way that I can outlet my anger is to hit something. I pick up another large rock and throw it at a nearby boulder. The rock I threw splits in half. I continue to smash rocks and trees for a few minutes. As I smash things my anger continues to grow, I feel claws starting to sprout from where my finger nails normally are. My toe nails also grow, as they begin to shred the fronts of my boots. I see fur growing up my arms, and I can feel it on my cheeks. Also I feel like my senses have doubled, another new thing.

When the smashing starts to not be enough, I decide to just let my anger out in a yell. But it doesn't come out as a yell. It is more like a loud howl. When I release the howl, it feels like it is the right thing to do. I know that I might have gone a little bit overboard with the howl. It is released at an ear shattering volume, and I can see the leaves on the nearby trees shift from the sound waves. As I come down from the howl, I am breathing hard. I did not really think that through very well. What if someone heard? Ah, who am I kidding? Probably everyone in the district heard.

I can hear Peeta and Gale come bursting back out of the district. I am probably a mile away. I run to meet Peeta, running faster than I ever have before. As I come into view, I slow down immensely as I tackle him. I can smell his scent, and it is very calming to me. I sit there with my head buried in his neck breathing him in. He tells me that everything is alright, and I believe him. He starts to stroke my hair, which also helps.

After a few minutes, I have calmed down enough to turn back to my regular self. I sit up with most of my energy drained from my transformations.

"Okay, now it's time to explain what just happened." Gale says.

I decide that I have to be blunt with everything. "I am a werewolf."

Gale gets confused, "A what?"

"A werewolf is someone who was bitten by another werewolf. They get stronger physically, as well as their senses. Right now, I can smell the sweat on both of you." Gale smells himself. "You don't smell that bad Gale, but I can smell it. I can also hear your heart beat and see great. Normally I look like I always have. Every now and then if I let my anger get too high, I will start to change into a werewolf. I have just learned a few extra things about each transformation. The first step in my transformation is my eyes start to glow and I grow fangs, I also get much stronger. As you could tell by me breaking that tree."

Peeta cuts in smiling, "You broke a tree?"

"Yeah I did." I smile back. "The next step is fur grows and I get claws. Also I could tell my senses doubled with this transformation. I could hear you guys leave the district. One of you kicked the fence."

Peeta laughs.

"Who else knows?" Gale asks.

"Obviously Peeta knows. My family, Haymitch, and Effie know, but the worst is the President. He found out during the games, and since then he has threatened to kill me with a werewolf poison known as Wolfs Bane."

"Uh, Katniss not that I don't think that sucks and all, but does anyone else know we are out here?" Gale asks with a suddenly panicked voice.

"No, only us." I reply.

"So… you wouldn't happen to know who that is?" he asks with more panic in his voice.

I turn around and look off into the distance. A long way down the trail that I ran back from is a figure. I can just barely make out the figure. Whoever it is doesn't have a very large build, and is covered in a long black cloak. The figure lifts out their arm to reveal a paper. It walks over to a tree and pins the paper to it with a knife. It then starts to walk away, but before it can fully disappear it looks back over its shoulder, then it sprints away.

I stand up and run to try and catch the figure. I know that whoever it is, it is the one who bit me. I don't know how but I just know.

"Katniss, wait!" I hear Peeta yell out.

He yells again, "We don't know who that is, they may be dangerous!"

I stop and turn around. I know that Peeta is right, but the only person who can give me the answers to who that was, is the person who just ran away. I can also tell from that things speed, I wouldn't be able to catch it. It is faster than me. I wait for Peeta and Gale to catch up before we continue to the paper on the tree.

I grab the paper and read it aloud. "Hello, Katniss Mellark. Congratulations by the way for the new husband. I hope that he keeps you very happy. The time is not quite right for us to meet, but when it is I will answer any and all questions that you have. I chose to bite you for a few reasons that I can only hope you will understand. You may not feel like it, but you were destined for great things. The werewolf side will just help you achieve that greatness. There is a hard journey ahead of both of us. I have gotten information about the next games, and I just wanted to let you know that I will be trying my hardest to help both you and Peeta through it. Even though you don't know who I am, I hope we can be good friends when I do reveal myself and that I develop your trust after. We ARE family after all. P.S. I could hear your howl from 10 miles away; you sure do have some lungs on you."

I stop reading and look back up to Peeta. This letter has only given me more questions than before. Why does this person have to wait to reveal itself? What hard journey is ahead? How will they help? And what the hell do they mean by us being family?

I walk over to a tree and sit at the base, rereading the paper for a few minutes.

Peeta finally walks up to me and reaches his hand out.

I take it without hesitation. "Katniss don't dwell on this person too much. You read it yourself. I don't think that this person wants to harm you; they want you're trust and they said that they were you're family. So, once again, the best thing for us to do is wait. They also said that a hard journey is ahead, we need to be ready for anything. Let's go back and talk to Haymitch." Peeta says.

"Oh yeah, I have to talk to him about him sharing information with us." I say.

Peeta looks like he is about to ask what I mean by that, but decides against it. Gale, Peeta and I walk back towards the District. We arrive and immediately head straight towards Haymitch's house.

I walk into Haymitch and Effie's house first and head directly towards them. They are sitting at their kitchen table talking about something.

"Hey Haymitch, do you know if the Capital bugged your house or not?" I ask innocently.

"Oh, hey sweetheart. Yeah, this house is bug free." He replies.

"Good." I say as I slap him in the cheek.

Effie yells out, "Katniss! What was that for?"

I point at Effie, "Don't start with me, Effie. I had to learn about an incoming revolution from Gale over here. You guys have been the representatives from District Twelve for a revolution this whole time and didn't think that Peeta and I would want to know about it. At first when he told me I thought that he was lying, because why wouldn't the two people that helped us survive the arena tell us about an incoming war. Then I thought about it more. You guys are very secretive and often don't tell us much. I started to believe Gale, and do you know what I did?"

Effie shakes her head; I know that she is trying to come up with an excuse to why they didn't tell us. Peeta and Gale are behind me silent as I rant.

"I went werewolf in front of Gale. And I started to go on a rampage on all of the surrounding trees and rocks. I was afraid of what I might do if Peeta didn't get there in time to calm me down."

Haymitch asks, "You were the one who howled weren't you?"

"You're damn right it was me! I was pissed, I still am. Why didn't you tell us? We need to be prepared."

Haymitch starts. "First off, great howl but next time, tone it down. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

I cut in saying, "Yeah I know. Whoever bit me told me in the letter that they wrote me, they could hear me from 10 miles away. They gave me the letter after I calmed down."

"What? You were in contact with who bit you?" Effie asks

"Kind of, they were in a black cloak about a hundred yards away from us, and attached this note to a tree." I hand Haymitch the note, and he reads it.

Peeta says, "I told her to not worry about this person for right now. From the information in the letter, we need to be more prepared for the revolution. When this person decides to reveal itself, we will figure it out then."

Haymitch says, "Peeta is right. We need to worry about this revolution. Now, we didn't tell you because nothing is set in stone yet. There has been talk about starting a revolution. As there has been for years, but very recently has there actually been action. That is all because of you two by the way. You guys changed things with the berries; District Thirteen wants you and Peeta to help lead the revolution. Our plans changed again with the new information that is being released in oh…" he looks at his watch, "right now actually."

He grabs the remote for the projector that comes with the houses in the victor's village and turns it on. The projector comes on in a bright light. The incoming picture shows President Snow.

He walks up to the Presidential Pedestal and starts talking, "Good evening Panem. The 75th annual Hunger Games will be the third quarter quell. Each quarter quell is different as you all know. This one will be one we will likely never forget. The last quarter quell, we doubled the amount of people in the arena." He smirks towards the camera as he says, "For this one however, the tributes from each district will be reaped from the existing pools of victors."

My heart falls.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello once again. I would like to thank everyone who has supported both this story and me; either in favorite, reviews or follows, you guys are awesome. I always feel happy knowing that you guys are enjoying it. I have said that I would try to get more chapters out faster, but that has proven a little bit difficult the past couple of weeks. Also in this chapter there is a little bit of a jump in time. Sorry if you don't like that. I just feel like this story needs to move a little bit faster. This chapter has a sexy scene in it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 14:**

**Peeta POV:**

I am holding Katniss in my arms as we lay in bed on our way to the Capital. The 75th Annual Hunger Games will consist of victors from previous games. Katniss was reaped since she was the only female victor. And I volunteered when Haymitch was picked. I am the male tribute from District 12.

After the reaping, I talked to Haymitch about what our game plan is. I made him promise that whatever happens, Katniss will survive. I am sure that she tried to get him to help me instead, but both Haymitch and I know that it is her that needs to survive. She is the one who this uprising in the districts is following. Not me. And I accept that. I accept that there are others out there that need her more than they need me. I also accept that if it comes down to it, I would give my life for her. I am sure that she would for me as well, but that would only be for her own sake. I would give up my life for the people that need her; her family, the country, and for me to know that she is safe. Nobody needs me. I know that if I died, she would be hung up on me for a while but she would get over it.

If she died, I wouldn't get over it.

I look down at the beautiful woman in my arms. Who, ten minutes ago, was panting my name as we had sex. We always practice safe sex in bed, but sometimes I wish we didn't. I say that knowing that my death is inevitable. I just wish that when I go, I could give her something to help her carry on. I know that if she were pregnant, she would have a part of me to hold onto after I'm gone. I hold her tightly as tears gather in my eyes, not over my own personal situation, but for hers. I haven't asked her if she wants a kid, because I think she doesn't. If I told her why I want to give her a child… well, let's just say that she wouldn't like my reasons. For the past couple of days, she has begged me not to give up and accept my death, but I did give up the second that the announcement for the games was given.

I fall asleep that night, with the thought of her surviving, comforting me.

* * *

><p>In the morning, I wake to the sounds of soft knocking on the door of our small room on the train. Effie almost always wakes us up. Haymitch can put Katniss in a bad mood with how he wakes us up. I get up and throw on a pair of pants and cover a still naked and sleeping Katniss. She must have been more tired than I thought.<p>

I open the door and poke my head out of the room. It's Effie as usual.

"Hey Peeta, we are arriving at the Capital in a few minutes. We are going straight to the Tribute Parade like last year. We want you guys to get together with the tributes; Beetee, Finnick, and Johanna, all of whom you have met at your wedding. They are the main tributes you guys will want as allies." She says.

"Why them?" I ask.

She leans in and whispers, "They know about the revolution." Then she backs up and says normally, "and they are the best equipped to help defend you guys."

"Okay. I'll wake Katniss, and then we will meet you guys for breakfast."

She nods and walks away. I shut the door and look back at Katniss. She is looking back at me. I know that she heard the conversation that I just had with Effie. I walk over the bed and lie down beside her. She stares intently into my eyes. I lean in for a kiss, which she happily returns.

I whisper, "I love you."

She replies, "I love you too."

I back away and sit up. Then I say, "We have to get ready, we are set to arrive in the Capital soon."

She nods and stands up. Still nude, she walks over to the bathroom and turns around. She waves for me to follow, and I hop up a little too quick to follow. She snickers at me.

After the shower, we arrive back in the dining car. We grab our food and sit at the table with Haymitch and Effie.

I say, "Anything else you want to tell us about before we get there."

Haymitch says, "Not really, act like last time when we left the train. But at the Parade you guys need to act like the only ones there are you. Don't pay attention to the crowd or the President. I've known people like Snow; they want to see your emotions for things that they have caused. He wants to see your anger for this situation. If you guys are sad, that is even better for him. So instead act like how you are at home. Act like you aren't even in the Games, talk about anything but the games. This will drive him crazy. When he talks, don't listen to him. Sure, not paying attention to the crowd won't give you sponsors. But we will find another way to get sponsors. You guys understand?"

We both nod. And continue eating.

After a few minutes he says, "Oh, and in training, it doesn't matter if you guys hold back. These guys all know what you did to get here. Try to develop different skills. If you want to be better at sword fighting, work on it. You guys don't need me to tell you what you need to work on."

We nod again, and continue to sit in silence.

A few minutes of waiting, we finally arrive in the Capital. We leave the train to an even bigger crowd than last year. We then head to the Tribute Parade. I go to get ready with Portia, and Katniss goes with Cinna.

I walk back to where the tributes wait for the Parade to start. I see Katniss talking to Finnick Odair.

As I walk closer I hear, "What's your secret Katniss?"

Before she can reply I say, "What's going on here?"

Finnick looks at me, "Oh, nothing Peeta. I was just talking to Katniss here. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Okay. Umm Katniss, I need to speak with Finnick alone for a minute. Is that alright?"

She looks between us for a second before saying, "Yeah, that's alright." She heads over to Johanna, after giving me a quick kiss.

I watch her walk away. Finnick moves to stand next to me as we watch her walk off. I turn back to him. He looks at me with a smile that makes me think he might not take me very seriously.

"Finnick, Haymitch told us that we can trust Beetee, Johanna, and you. You know why?"

"Yes I do."

"Okay. I trust Haymitch with my life. So if he tells me that I can trust you, I will. I know that you barely know me, and might not even want to. But I have a favor to ask of you."

His face goes from smiling, to a determined one. "Sure you can ask, but I am not sure that it will be something I can do."

I decide that I might need to convince him, so I say, "Before I ask you the favor, I have another question. I know that everyone sees you as smooth ladies' man. But have you ever been truly in love?"

He looks back over his shoulder to a girl I know to be Annie Cresta. "Yes, between you and me. I am in love with Annie. She knows about my love for her, and we have been a couple in secret for years. Mags volunteered for her this year, so I am in her debt for saving Annie. Why do you ask?"

"Because, unlike you, the woman I love is going into the games with us. I wanted to ask if you would help me look after her. I couldn't live without her, and we both know how much she means to this country. Especially to those in the districts."

He nods. "Yes, I'll help watch after her. But we both know that she can take good care of herself, and that is even before she was bitten."

I take a step back. "What? How do you know?"

"Well, Haymitch told me. Besides it is not like she is the only person here with something else in her."

"What do you mean? Are there other Werewolves here?" I ask.

He laughs, "Yeah there are. There are others here that aren't though."

I don't say anything, but he can tell that I want to know what he means.

"Peeta, look over at the Morphlings." I look to where he is pointing. "They are something else as well. They like the night, love to be alone and are masters of stealth. What do you think they are?"

I don't know about anything other than Werewolves, so I shake my head.

"Really? You only know about Werewolves?" he asks.

"Well yeah, and I only know them because of Katniss." I reply.

"Okay well, the Morphlings are Vampires. You don't need to know much about them, other than; they hate the sun, drink blood, are pretty strong, and are hard to kill."

I study the Morphlings for a second; they are standing in the corner avoiding contact from everyone. One of them looks over at me, we make eye contact and I hurriedly look away.

Finnick laughs, "Like I said, don't worry about them. They know better than to go after you. Katniss would tear them apart."

I look back at him; I remember that he won his games by using a trident to kill others. He was really strong, and had a great sense of the way around his woods.

I ask timidly, "Finnick, are you something as well?"

"Ah, I was wondering when you would ask that. Yes I am. Well, sort of. My mother was a Druid. I am half Druid, half Human. I feel at home in water, and forest settings. I am pretty strong, but I don't have the temper of a wolf. I get along with everyone, and have kind of a habit of trying to learn everyone's secrets. Druids are notorious at gossiping."

"That was what you were talking to Katniss about earlier. If you want to get on her good side, don't pry into her life. If she trusts you, she will open up." I say.

"Yeah, I kind of figured. She was constantly trying to deflect my questions and was getting frustrated." He says with a smile.

Then he says, "Back on track with the discussion about what others here are. Careers are more likely to be wolves, while everyone else is kind of a variety. There are humans who become victors. Such as people like you and Chaff from District 11. He won his games by killing a few of those who were a little bit extra. Don't worry too much about the others though. You have two wolves, a half druid, and a really smart human on your team."

I nod in agreement and we both walk towards Katniss and Johanna. This just confirmed my suspicion. Johanna is a Werewolf, which makes me feel better about trying to keep Katniss safe.

I walk up behind Katniss and wrap my arms around her. She tenses for a second, and then relaxes as she realizes that it is me.

I kiss her neck, and ask, "What have you guys been talking about?"

Johanna responds, "I was just telling your wife about the condition that my district is in right now. Which is bad by the way."

I respond, "Well, that sucks to hear. I hope that we get to live happily in Panem soon."

She nods, and says, "Well, it was great talking to you Katniss, but it looks like the Parade is getting ready to start. Bye" she winks at me, "Bye to you too lover boy."

I say, "Yeah, We'll talk more in training."

She and Finnick walk back to their Chariots. Katniss and I walk to ours.

Katniss asks, "What did you talk to Finnick about?"

"Not much, just that there are other super natural beings here other than you. Things like; him being half Druid, Johanna being a Werewolf, and the Morphlings being Vampires." I say leaving out my asking him a favor.

"Oh, I kind of expected Johanna being a wolf. But what are Druids, and Vampires?"

The Parade starts and our chariot starts moving. Our outfits start glowing like glowing embers as a fire starts. As we were told, we don't pay attention to anyone but ourselves. I explain all the things that Finnick told me. After that we start to joke around. The whole thing goes by faster with us being in our own little world. I don't see him, but I think that we made the President mad. Afterwards, Haymitch tell us that anyone could basically see Snows anger from a mile away. That makes us happy.

We head up to the same level that we had during last year's games. We have a good time joking about Snow's reaction. But reality comes crashing back down hard as we start talking about the training that we will be doing tomorrow.

We head off to bed after dinner. We walk into the same room as last year. Neither Katniss nor I talk as we look around the room. Katniss lies down on the bed.

After the Parade, she threw on a dark green dress. With her eyes closed, I walk to the foot of the bed and gaze down at my wife. I think that in a few days I might be dead. So my time with her is limited.

I bend down and slowly start moving my hands up her legs, starting from her feet. She takes a deep breath as I do this, but does not open her eyes. My hands make their way under her dress, and I curl my fingers around the sides of her panties and start pulling down. She lifts her lower body to help make my undressing her easy.

This time I bend down and start slowly kissing up her legs. I start with her left leg and work my way up. Her breathing quickens. Before I can make it to where I know she wants me to kiss, I stop and move to her other leg. She moans a little impatiently. She hates it when I tease her like this, but I love seeing her reaction. I kiss up her right leg. I finally make it to her vagina. I lay down on my stomach between her legs. I look at her glistening folds. I blow a little bit on her clit, to further tease her. She shivers from this.

I take one long slow lick up her slit. She moans deeply as I look up at her face. I continue licking her, slowly picking up the pace as she spurs me on. I add two fingers inside of her and focus on licking her clit. After a few minutes, she explodes into my mouth. I lick her up, savoring her taste as if it is the last thing I will ever drink.

She brings me up face to face with her. We help each other continue to undress. With both of us naked, I move to push into her.

She asks, "Peeta, don't we need protection?"

I shake my head. "Honey, in a few days we might both be dead. If you do make it out alive, I want you to have a piece of me. I know that you told me to not give up, but I know that the odds are stacked against me with all of the wolves, vampires, and druids in the games."

She looks at me surprised. Tears start gathering in her eyes, as she finally agrees with me. I am so happy that she decided to agree, I didn't want to argue with her with the games so close.

I push in and start to make love to her. Now, I can tell, she is trying to memorize every touch I give her and my every reaction as she touches me. We make love into the late hours until we both fall asleep due to exhaustion.


End file.
